President Ranil surrenders, agrees to visit of PRC snoop ship: SL officials

New Delhi: Bowing to Chinese pressure, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has indicated that the arrival date of the Chinese military-scientific research vessel “Yuanwang 5”, which is scheduled to enter the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota port on 11 August, is likely to remain unchanged.
Top Sri Lankan officials representing two key ministries, who spoke to The Sunday Guardian on Saturday, said that there was no “change” of its arrival date as of Saturday evening and the ship would reach its destination in Sri Lanka as per the decided timeline, and will stay for a week and depart on 17 August after “replenishment”. Such permission by the Sri Lankan authorities, if reports about Wickremesinghe’s surrender to PRC pressure are true, would constitute a breach of the solemn obligation given by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that the island nation would do nothing that would impact the security of India. The Yuanwang 5 is a snoop vessel engaged in the gathering of data that would be beneficial to the PLA in the advent of conflict with another country.
The Indian government had earlier raised an objection with the Sri Lanka government over allowing the ship to dock at Hambantota due to “serious security concerns”. The Sunday Guardian’s email to the Sri Lankan foreign ministry seeking an official response on the matter did not elicit any response till the time the story went to press.
Multiple media reports published on Saturday quoting an undated purported official communication between Sri Lankan officials and Chinese officials that found its way on to social media claimed that the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka to “defer” the arrival of the said ship until further consultations. However, a high ranking Sri Lankan official, speaking to The Sunday Guardian on Saturday, termed the said document as “fake”.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 28 July, while commenting on the matter, had stated that it was “keeping note of a Chinese research vessel set to make a call at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port”. The Yuanwang 5, which was built in 2007, departed from Jiangyin, China on 13 July and is currently sailing close to Taiwan where the Chinese military is conducting live-fire exercise drills. India is concerned about the ship reaching and berthing in Sri Lanka as the highly advanced ship can map the ocean bed, which is critical to anti-submarine operations of the Chinese Navy.
The Yuanwang-class meaning “Long View” naval platforms are used for tracking and support of satellite and intercontinental ballistic missiles by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of the PRC. The ship intending to berth in Hambantota has a crew of 450 technicians, analysts and sailors.