China Silent On Details Of Talks As Its Ship Is Set To Dock At Lanka Port
Beijing:
China on Monday said Sri Lanka had allowed its missile and satellite tracking ships to dock at Hambantota port on Tuesday, but declined to disclose details of negotiations with Colombo that led to the island’s government. Bankruptcy islands have reversed their previous stance to postpone the entry of high-tech vessels. .
“As you said, Sri Lanka has allowed Yuan Wang-5 to dock at its port,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference here, responding to a question about Colombo’s consent to the port. The ship docked at Hambantota port. The port a few days after asking it to postpone the visit following reported concerns by India and the US.
However, Wang declined to disclose details of Beijing’s negotiations with Colombo regarding the mooring of the ship.
“As for the specific questions you raised, we mentioned China’s position quite a few times,” Wang said when asked about the “consultations” that have been held and “relationships.” mind” is resolved.
After Sri Lanka asked it to postpone the entry of the ship, China on August 8 reacted angrily saying it had “absolutely no reason” when some countries cited the so-called “concern”. on security” to pressure Colombo and “brutal interference” in their internal affairs. events.
A statement from the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry on August 13 said that Colombo had held extensive consultations on “certain concerns”.
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement explained that it had asked the Chinese Embassy on 5 August that the visit of the Chinese vessel scheduled from 11 to 17 August to the port of Hambantota “due to the certain concerns raised with the Department” until “further consultations on this matter are conducted.” “The government has since engaged in extensive high-level consultations through diplomatic channels with all relevant parties, aimed at resolving the issue in a spirit of friendship, mutual trust and reciprocity. constructive dialogue, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders. , and in accordance with the principle of sovereign equality of states,” the statement said.
The Chinese Embassy on 12 August applied for new customs clearance dates – August 16-22 – “for the purpose of replenishing ships”.
“After reviewing all the documents on site,” the notice to the Chinese embassy “was forwarded to the delayed arrival vessel between August 16 and 22,” the Sri Lankan statement said. said.
The ship, with about 2,000 crew members on board with satellite tracking devices and intercontinental missiles, will dock at the Hambantota port, which China has leased for 99 years as a debt swap.
Colombo’s permission also fueled speculation that Beijing could make positive announcements about Sri Lanka’s request to defer loans it owns to China and beg for bridge funding to overcome the crisis. crisis until receiving support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
China, whose investments in Sri Lanka amounted to billions of dollars, provided US$73 million in aid and rice shipments but remained silent about Colombo’s request for a rescue package. aid because the country went bankrupt after running out of foreign exchange reserves in April this year.
India has joined in with about $4 billion in support under multiple lines of credit to purchase essential items such as fuel, food and medicine.
China is Sri Lanka’s main creditor for infrastructure investments. Debt restructuring on Chinese loans will be key to the island’s success in its ongoing negotiations with the IMF for a bailout.
The southern deep-sea port of Hambantota, developed largely with Chinese loans, is considered strategically important because of its location.
India has said that it carefully monitors any developments that affect its security and economic interests.
New Delhi is concerned about the possibility that the ship’s tracking system is trying to track Indian facilities while en route to a Sri Lankan port.
India has traditionally taken a strict stance towards Chinese military vessels in the Indian Ocean and has opposed such visits to Sri Lanka in the past.
Relations between India and Sri Lanka became strained after Colombo allowed a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine to dock at one of its ports in 2014.
India’s interest is particularly centered on the port of Hambantota.
In 2017, Colombo leased the southern port to China Merchant Port Holdings for 99 years, after Sri Lanka failed to keep its loan repayment commitments, raising concerns about the port’s ability to be used for military purposes. .
China’s foreign ministry on Monday said it had absolutely no reason for some countries to invoke so-called security concerns to pressure Sri Lanka.
On Friday, India rejected China’s “insinuation” that New Delhi pressured Colombo to resist the scheduled visit of the Chinese research vessel, but insisted it would make a decision. based on its security concerns.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi that Sri Lanka, as a sovereign state, would make its own independent decisions and noted that India would make a ruling. about its security concerns based on the prevailing situation in the region, especially in border areas. .
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)