News
Chinese ship docks on Tuesday; India gives surveillance plane
View(s):The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Strategic Support Force tracking vessel Yuang Wang 5 is heading towards Hambantota International Port after the Sri Lanka Government yesterday gave permission for it to dock from Tuesday, August 16, to 22.
The warship with 2,000 sailors on board used for tracking and support of satellite and intercontinental missiles was earlier scheduled to arrive at Hambantota on August 11 when Sri Lanka having earlier given it permission to enter asked the visit be deferred until further consultations with the United States, India and China following objections raised by Washington and New Delhi citing security concerns of India.
Yesterday’s decision ended days of such consultations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an official statement said that “having considered all material in place”, the Government gave clearance to the deferred arrival of the vessel, which the Chinese call a scientific research ship. 
The Ministry statement added that the matter was resolved “in a spirit of friendship, mutual trust and constructive dialogue taking into account the interests of all parties concerned, and in line with the principle of sovereign equality of states”.
The ship had remained in international waters en-route to Hambantota when it was signalled on August 5 to defer its arrival after the US and India raised their objections and diplomatic consultations began in Colombo with the ambassadors of the three countries dealing directly with President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the issue.
The Sunday Times learns that both the US and Indian envoys were asked to provide “concrete reasons” for their objections. Not satisfied with the reasons being sufficient to refuse entry to the Chinese vessel, the Government decided to inform the Chinese embassy in Colombo to inform the ship to continue its journey to Hambantota. The Yuang Wang 5 is currently some 580 nautical miles southeast of Hambantota.
Meanwhile, the Indian Government will formally hand over a Donier 228 maritime patrol aircraft from the Indian Naval Fleet on a gratis basis tomorrow, coinciding with India’s Independence Day. This aircraft will be flown by a 15-member Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) crew recently trained in India. There will be an Indian Government technical team attached to the SLAF comprising of engineering officers and technicians.
The SLAF said in a statement yesterday that the Donier aircraft would conduct maritime and coastal surveillance operations within the Exclusive Economic Zone among other aspects “ensuring national security through effective employment of air power”.
The aircraft will be inducted to the SLAF Fleet at a ceremony attended by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Indian High Commissioner Gopal Bagley.
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