New Delhi: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is contemplating India’s request to not permit Chinese Survey and Research Vessel Shi Yan 6 to undertake a joint army scientific analysis with the island nation’s National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) in Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone between late October and November this yr, folks aware of the matter stated.

President Wickremesinghe’s response to the difficulty, raised by exterior affairs minister S Jaishankar throughout his assembly with the Sri Lankan head of state in Colombo on October 11, was non-committal, the folks added, asking to not be named. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali Sabry was quoted by Sri Lanka’s The Island newspaper on October 9 saying that his nation had given permission to the Chinese ship for docking at Colombo deep seaport in November. The identical report quoted him as saying that Sri Lanka doesn’t need “to get involved” with “big power rivalry going on” between “China, India and the US”.

Interestingly, a US navy ship, USNS Brunswick, docked in Colombo on Wednesday, and no dates have but been introduced for the go to of Shin Yan 6, the Chinese vessel.

The Chinese vessel was earlier sustaining place 1,000 km east of the China-controlled Hambantota port within the Island nation, and is at the moment about 280 nautical miles (500 km) east of Chennai within the Bay of Bengal. Carrying almost 2,000 tonnes of diesel, the ship has sufficient provides to final for 2 extra months. The ship entered the Indian Ocean Region on September 23.

In July, after a go to by the Sri Lankan President, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated it was “necessary” the 2 international locations labored “together, keeping in mind each other’s security interests”. The last determination on the ship, HT learns, could also be taken by Wickremesinghe throughout his go to to Beijing to attend the BRI summit on October 17-18 on the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Over the previous 5 years, Chinese ships have been lively within the Indian Ocean Region with the PLA Navy rising into a correct blue water navy.

The whole variety of vessels together with warships, ballistic missile trackers, survey and analysis vessels recorded in 2019 have been 29, grew to 39 in 2020, then 45 in 2021 and 43 in 2022. This yr, until September 15, 28 Chinese ships have been recorded within the area.

Even although Sri Lanka and China have dismissed New Delhi’s considerations and handed off the ship’s go to as having to do with routine marine analysis, India’s nationwide safety planners are satisfied that the PLA is mapping the Indian Ocean mattress to chart out new sea routes to the east and north coast of Africa in addition to Indian Ocean Littoral States that bypass India altogether. This analysis is a precursor to Chinese strike forces patrolling the excessive seas in IOR as early as 2025, they imagine.