India

India upset as Sri Lanka fuels China’s warships on the sly

India has expressed serious concerns to Sri Lanka as the island nation’s tankers have been secretly refuelling Chinese Navy vessels on the high seas.

“New Delhi has asked Sri Lanka to come up with transparent standard operation procedures (SOPs) for refuelling and docking of ships and not allow Chinese military vessels to either dock or refuel at Hambantota or Colombo ports,” according to a report in the Hindustan Times based on information provided by diplomats in Colombo.

It was noticed that Sri Lankan vessels were loading fuel from Hambantota port and refuelling Chinese warships on the high seas despite Indian and US concerns on the issue, the report points out.

India has been rising to the occasion to provide fuel, food and medicines to Sri Lanka during the worst days of its economic crisis. However, Colombo does not appear to be living up to its promise when it comes to New Delhi’s sensitivities on the China issue.

Chinese warships have been using the anti-piracy pretext to deploy its warships off the coast of East Africa and the Gulf of Aden even though there is little or no pirate activity in the region. Refuelling of these ships by Sri Lanka helps them to continue with these operations which are emerging as a threat to peace in the Indian Ocean region.

The Sri Lanka government earlier bowed to Beijing’s arm-twisting in letting Chinese spy ship Yuan Wang 5 to dock at Hambantota despite India’s objections. Both India and the US had made it clear to Colombo that it should desist from extending any logistical support to Chinese Navy vessels.

While China’s so-called research vessels such as Yuan Wang 5 are said to be carrying out hydrological surveys and metal prospecting, they are actually monitoring satellite activity and missile test firing in the region with a focus on India, US and Australia. This is an issue of serious concern.

IN Bureau

Recent Posts

“India, Pakistan agree to cease military action on land, air and sea”: FS Vikram Misri

In a crucial step toward de-escalation, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that Pakistan's Director General…

3 hours ago

Op Sindoor strikes kill Jaish Chief Masood Azhar’s brother-in-law, the man behind IC-814 hijacking

Indian Armed Forces launched a strike on May 7, targeting nine terror infrastructure sites in…

6 hours ago

PM Modi chairs high-level meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, CDS and armed forces chiefs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security…

7 hours ago

Pakistan’s actions being seen as escalatory, provocative in nature, says Foreign Secretary Misri

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri emphasised that the actions being undertaken by Pakistan against India are…

7 hours ago

Fragments of projectile retrieved from Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer

As Pakistan continued its aggression targeting even civilian infrastructure, fragments of a projectile were retrieved…

7 hours ago

India exposes Pak propaganda war, debunks claims of damage to defence systems, air bases

India on Saturday categorically rejected Pakistan's malicious misinformation campaign, which falsely claimed the destruction of…

7 hours ago