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Sri Lanka caught between rivals as Chinese ship docks despite India’s concerns
- Yuan Wang 5 arrives at Hambantota port for three-day stay – down from five – after New Delhi raises security issues
- India fears China will use the port as a military base, while Beijing rejects worries about the survey vessel
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The Chinese survey vessel Yuan Wang 5 has docked at Sri Lanka’s Chinese-built Hambantota port, Refinitiv data and local media showed on Tuesday.
The ship has been a bone of contention between India and China, two of Sri Lanka’s biggest benefactors in its current economic crisis. India fears its bigger and more powerful rival China will use the Hambantota port near the main Asia-Europe shipping route as a military base.
Sri Lanka, which needs the support of both India and China as it struggles with its worst economic crisis in decades, initially granted the ship permission for a five-day replenishment stay in Hambantota from August 11.
It later asked China to delay the vessel’s arrival, citing the need for more consultations.
Yuan Wang 5 will now berth for only three days to stock up on fuel, food and other essentials, said an official at the port who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
A Sri Lankan government minister said the island nation was working to ensure there was no friction between friendly countries.
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Desperate Sri Lankans seek to escape their country’s worst-ever economic crisis
Desperate Sri Lankans seek to escape their country’s worst-ever economic crisis
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