How was the entry of 'spy ship' easy, the former Navy chief put pressure on the Wickremesinghe government

Despite the concern and opposition from India and America, the Sri Lankan government allowed China's 'spy ship' Yuan Wang 5 to enter the Hambantota port. This vessel will remain in the port till August 21. Equipped with a state-of-the-art tracking system, the ship has the capability of tracking ballistic missiles. Apart from this, it can conduct research before carrying out its submarine operation in the Indian Ocean. It was claimed that China's Xi Jinping government might have put pressure on Sri Lanka, but the fact is that Sri Lanka's former Security Minister and former Navy Chief Admiral had put pressure on the Wickremesinghe government.

Chinese ship Yuan Wang 5 was allowed by the Sri Lankan government to enter and research Hambantota port at 4.00 am today. The ship will remain in this port till August 21. The Sri Lankan government, while giving entry to the ship, clarified that the port has been leased to Beijing for 99 years. Therefore, there was no reason not to allow entry to the ship.

Earlier information was coming out that the ship's entry at Hambantota port was postponed between 11-17 August, but the Ranil Wickremesinghe government could not stand the pressure of the Xi Jinping regime. The Sri Lankan government had to withdraw its decision, possibly after Beijing's threat. The reason behind this was coming out that maybe China was trying to block the IMF loan. In such a situation, because Colombo has been officially declared bankrupt, Sri Lanka had to take this step for economic strength.

Whereas the fact remains that when the Wickremesinghe government deferred the entry of the spy ship, his government did not come under pressure from anyone else, but Rear Admiral Sarath Veerashekhar, former Minister of Public Security and former Navy Chief, openly criticized the Wickremesinghe government's move. But opposed.

China's dominance in Sri Lanka

Such is the Chinese clout within Sri Lanka that on August 8, the MP now lobbied to allow the ship to enter the ship despite Indian concerns before the President, PM, and close friend of Beijing, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

According to diplomats based in Sri Lanka, there has been a steady increase in the number of Chinese spy ships in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) over the past decade under the guise of research ships. It is understood that 53 so-called Chinese ships have entered the Indian Ocean region since 2020.

Also Read: Chinese spy ship Yuan Wang-5 reaches Sri Lanka: will be at Hambantota Port from 16 to 22 August; Indian Navy's eye on the movement of the ship