COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – After weeks of uncertainty, a Chinese surveillance vessel docked at a port in Sri Lanka on Tuesday, raising tensions between neighboring India and China as Indian leaders become increasingly alarmed by Beijing’s growing influence in the region.
The ship, which comes from a line of Yuan Wang ships used by the Chinese military to track satellite and ballistic missile launches, is expected to continue refueling in the southern port of Hambantota for several days. China has a 99-year lease for the port after Sri Lanka failed to repay Chinese loans for its construction.
For Sri Lanka, where the government is already struggling to get the country out of virtual bankruptcy, the Chinese docking request reinforced the island’s long-standing bond with navigating two giant rivals.
China has been a long-standing construction and development ally to Sri Lanka, providing large loans for projects well beyond its port. India has provided nearly $4 billion in aid to Sri Lanka in recent months as the country ran out of foreign reserves to pay for its imports of basic commodities.
As a sign of its difficult position, the Sri Lankan government had initially asked China to postpone the ship’s arrival “until further consultations are held”. Then, late last week, it said the boat might dock.
Some analysts in India, where there were concerns that the Chinese boat could be used to monitor sites in the south of the country, saw Sri Lanka’s decision as a diplomatic blow.”
Officials from India and the United States, two members of an alliance known as the Quad and designed to counter China’s increasing influence in the region, had raised concerns in both Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo and in Cambodia at recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations ministerial meetings, Sri Lankan officials told DailyExpertNews.
India’s concerns over the Chinese ship have heightened tensions over Beijing’s encroachment on India’s land borders in the Himalayas, where the country’s armies have been on the warpath for more than two years after deadly clashes. Despite 16 rounds of talks, the two sides have failed to agree on the withdrawal of their troops in the Ladakh region.
“The government is closely following any development affecting India’s security and economic interests and is taking all necessary measures to protect them,” said Arindam Bagchi, the spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, last month when questions surfaced. about the Chinese ship.
Without mentioning India, China’s foreign ministry fired back, saying it was “completely unjustified for certain countries to cite the so-called security concerns to pressure Sri Lanka.”
In the weeks that followed, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs held “extensive consultations” with all parties involved. After the government allowed China to dock, it downplayed its significance, noting that it had allowed naval vessels from many countries, including the United States and Japan, to do the same.
As a sign of the Indian and Chinese dance of influence on the small island, India donated a maritime reconnaissance plane from Dornier to Sri Lanka the day before the ship’s arrival. Sri Lanka’s new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, attended a ceremony to mark the donation.
“The benefits of India’s growth, the benefits of India’s strength, are for all our friends and neighbors to share,” said Gopal Baglay, India’s high commissioner in Colombo, at the ceremony.
The next day, Qi Zhenhong, the Chinese ambassador to Sri Lanka, called the docking of the Chinese ship “nothing special”.
“The science and research vessel that Hambantota is calling at is very natural and normal,” he said. “This is not the first time this type of ship has visited Sri Lanka.”
When asked whether the delay was due to India’s objections, he said: “I don’t know. Maybe this is life.”
Skandha Gunasekara reported from Colombo, and Mujib Mashal from New Delhi.
