India may hail Lankan move to allow Russian naval ship at Hambantota
Posted on November 22nd, 2019

Courtesy The Economic Times

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has allowed a Russian Navy ship to visit the Hambantota Port. India hopes that the new dispensation in Colombo will disallow any foreign military assets and submarines in its territorial waters that are detrimental to India’s interests.

New Delhi: Ahead of his trip to India on November 29, the new Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has allowed a Russian Navy ship to visit the Hambantota Port. India is likely to welcome this decision since it has been concerned over the use of the strategically located port by the Chinese Navy and has been desirous of Russia expanding its presence in the Indo-Pacific region to make it more inclusive. India hopes that the new dispensation in Colombo will disallow any foreign military assets and submarines in its territorial waters that are detrimental to India’s interests. Rajapaksa’s elder brother and former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had irked India by allowing Chinese submarines to berth in Sri Lanka twice without informing it. India had raised the matter at the highest level twice in 2014.

Hambantota Port, built with Chinese loans, is of special interest to India. In December 2017, the Sri Lankan government leased the port to China for a period of 99 years after failing to show commitment to pay loans of billions of dollars. During his meeting with President Rajapaksa on Tuesday, India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar had conveyed India’s expectation that the Sri Lankan government would take forward the process of national reconciliation to arrive at a solution that meets the aspirations of the Tamil community for equality, justice, peace, and dignity.

Russian Navy ship Perekop of the Baltic Fleet is docked in Hambantota Port this week. The 138-meter long and 17-meter wide ship has a displacement of 6,900 tonnes and is commanded by Commander Roman Pakhomov. Perekop, whose crew includes 399 naval personnel, is equipped with modern radio-technical and navigational equipment as well as combat armament. During the three-day visit, the crew members of the ship will take part in sporting events as well as cultural programmes organised by the Sri Lankan navy. o make it more inclusive.

India hopes that the new dispensation in Colombo will disallow any foreign militar ..

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5 Responses to “India may hail Lankan move to allow Russian naval ship at Hambantota”

  1. aloy Says:

    We also have been a ship building nation. Mahavansa says at one time the whole of east coast was one ship building yard. Only thing we could not get the astro navigation before the westerners got it. History records that we supplied the biggest ships to china.
    Hairbrained leaders like RW had no idea about our past and tried to ape the west and sold the most important port SL had for a song to China.
    BTW, I too have been involved in the design of a facility to take in ships of similar capacity and have seen the blunders of big time players like Germans.

  2. aloy Says:

    Here is to the Russian ship:

    https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/12/13/132030597/video-russia-s-putin-sings-blueberry-hill-at-charity-dinner

    and an Indian oldie circulating these days:

    https://youtu.be/lzqA4kjBHK8

  3. Charles Says:

    Aloy, Our country is not short of great tecnicians and engineers; Was it a Mayadunne that desined the tunnel that was cut from two sides and met at the exact centre -Laxaoana.

    Congradulations Aloy. I hope you will give a hand to our new President in building our country.

  4. Ananda-USA Says:

    Will India grant a RECIPROCAL VETO power to Sri Lanka on Military deployments in Indian territory, or is this just a ONE-WAY STREET in which India DEMANDS and our sovereign Nation has to ABJECTLY accede??

    India that fomented and implanted a malevolent terrist movement within Sri Lanka, then INVADED our sovereign Nation to divide it in favour of its terrorist surrogates, and forced 13A down our National Throat to keep us divided and weak forever, now has the ABSOLUTE GALL to be “upset” over what Sri Lanka does to secure its own security by inviting freindly nations to dock their ships in our harbors!

    It REEKS of SELF-SERVING HYPOCRITICAL BIG BROTHER power plays.

    We have to be ABSOLUTELY CRAZY to accept India as the “primary” security for Sri Lanka!

    Let us not hand the hen house over to the fox!

    I also don’t understand how India can distinguish, in principle, a Russian Navy ship docking at Colombo from Chinese Navy ships doing the same!! China may be a threat to India, but the PRINCIPLE , if they have one, should be the same!

  5. aloy Says:

    Ananda,
    What we do with Hambanthotha is up to us, irrespective of what ICPs like Dixit says. We shall cross the line at our own pace when we come to it. Whether it is red, blue or green (RGB) belonging to any power is immaterial.

    I fully endorse what Milinda Moragoda of Pathfinder says: Abrogate 13A.

    In the meantime just relax and enjoy. We are not quarter or half Indians, but their full blooded relatives and Helayas, as per MR.

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