How China Reacted To Sri Lanka Blocking Its Submarine With Eye On India
Posted on May 12th, 2017
Courtesy NDTV
Sri Lanka last allowed a Chinese submarine to dock in the capital of Colombo in October 2014, a move that triggered fierce opposition from India.
China defended its military relationship with Sri Lanka as good for regional peace and stability after Sri Lanka rejected a request from China to dock one of its submarines in Colombo this month. Sri Lanka’s decision was announced as Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on the island nation for an overnight trip.
Sri Lanka last allowed a Chinese submarine to dock in the capital of Colombo in October 2014, a move that triggered fierce opposition from India, which worries about growing Chinese activity in a country it has long viewed as part of its area of influence.
The timing of the incident is awkward as Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected in Beijing this weekend to attend a summit on China’s new Silk Road plan.
China’s Defence Ministry, in a statement sent to Reuters, did not directly mention the rejected request for the submarine visit, but said its submarines needed a place to resupply on their way to anti-piracy missions.
“The stopping to resupply of our military’s submarines that are on their way to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters for protection missions is an internationally accepted practice,” the ministry said.
In recent years, the Chinese and Sri Lankan militaries had fruitful and effective cooperation in areas like mutual visits and training, it added.
“The cooperation between the Chinese and Sri Lankan militaries is beneficial to regional peace and stability, is not aimed at any third party and should not be interfered in by a third party,” the ministry said, without elaborating.
According to news agency Reuters, a senior Sri Lankan government official said China’s request to dock one of its submarines in Colombo this month had been rejected. He said Sri Lanka was “unlikely” to agree to China’s request to dock the submarine at any time, given India’s concerns.
A second official, at the defence ministry, also said China’s request to dock this month had been rejected but that a decision on a further docking had been postponed.
A 1987 accord between India and Sri Lanka provides that their territories not be used for activities deemed prejudicial to each other’s unity, integrity and security.
China has invested heavily in Sri Lanka in recent years, funding airports, roads, railways and ports, unsettling India, traditionally the closest economic partner of the island nation of 21 million people.
More than 70 percent of the trans-shipment in Colombo port comes from India.
Sri Lanka is finalising a plan to lease 80 percent of its loss-making Hambantota port to China for 99 years, but the deal has been delayed because of opposition from trade unions.
May 12th, 2017 at 3:12 pm
Chinsee requests for access to its submarines in Sri Lanka should be approved, as long as Sri Lanka is notified well in advance of the visit and there are no other security issues at that time.
Sri Lanka allows surface ships and submarines navies of other friendly nations, such as the USA, Pakistan, Iran, UK, Japan, and India to regularly dock at our Ports, and no exception should be made for China’s submarines despite Modi’s visit during Vesak to Sri Lanka.
After all, one of the PRIMARY BENEFITS of our friendship with China us to keep the neighborhood bully India at sn arms length.
The current problem if course is that we have a PARA-GATHI UNPATRIOTUC Yamapslanaya in power in Sri Lanja that does not care at all about maintaining our Mothegland’s sovereignty against the inimical plots orchestrated by India ever since we received independence.
Sri Lanka needs a NEW FOREIGN POLICY that is devoted to keeping India at from interfering in the international affairs of our sovereign nation. An important component of such a foreign policy should be to maintain a CLOSE ALLIANCE with China, without allowing ANY foreign nation, including China, India and the USA, to OVERLY DOMINATE the country economically, politically and militarily.
That is ESSENTIAL if we are to defend, protect and preserve Sri Lanka as the only ancestral homeland of its native Sinhala Buddhist people.
May 12th, 2017 at 5:27 pm
It must be written into the Constitution that ALL PORTS OF LANKA ARE FOR PEACEFUL PURPOSES ONLY.
May 12th, 2017 at 11:50 pm
Oops! I meant to say “devoted to keeping India from interfering in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka…”
May 13th, 2017 at 12:16 am
I feel sad about MR and WW.
Facebook is full with RIDICULE of them both. This will be REMEMBERED by the community at election time. VERY BAD decision by MR to meet MODIYA.
On the POSITIVE SIDE thanks to WW’s early warning, MODI could NOT sign 13 agreements PLANNED to sign!! He just watched VESAK and went WITHOUT TRINCO!!
This is what our experts have missed.
So thank you WW. You saved SL.
Prevention is better than cure, isn’t it?