‘Taiwan Strait militarisation’ marks a first for India as Chinese ‘spy ship’ row festers
- Indian mission in Colombo makes rare mention of Taiwan amid spat with Beijing over docking of Yuan Wang 5 at Chinese-run Hambantota port
- Port call may make India draw a harder line, to prevent Sri Lanka from potentially hosting Chinese military vessels as Pakistan has been doing, analyst says
This came as the Indian embassy posted a series of tweets hitting out at Chinese ambassador Qi Zhenhong’s recent article hailing Colombo’s decision to allow the Yuan Wang 5 to dock, where he claimed the small island nation had suffered years of “aggression from its northern neighbour”.
Describing Qi’s comments as a “violation of basic diplomatic etiquette”, the Indian embassy said his words possibly reflected a “larger national attitude” and “gave away” the true purpose of the ship’s visit.
The Yuan Wang 5, which China says is a scientific research vessel but Indian media have labelled a “spy ship”, had sailed in international waters for 15 years and attracted little attention. But that changed earlier this month, when the Sri Lankan government, against New Delhi’s objections, allowed the ship a replenishment stop at its Hambantota port after initially seeking a deferred arrival.