INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
China has requested permission for a research ship to dock in Sri Lanka, Colombo said Tuesday, following a visit by a spacecraft-tracking
vessel last year that sparked security concerns from neighbouring India.Sri Lankan foreign ministry spokeswoman Priyanga Wickramasinghe said
Beijing had sought permission for the Shi Yan 6 to dock, but that no date had been set and the request was being processed.Chinese state
ecology tests.Last year, India raised concerns over a Sri Lanka port call in Hambantota by Chinese research vessel Yuan Wang 5, which
Indian Ocean and its influence in Sri Lanka, seeing both as firmly within its sphere of influence.Sri Lanka is strategically placed halfway
in any research activities while in Sri Lankan waters.The Hambantota port has been run by the Chinese since 2017, when they took on a
99-year lease for $1.12 billion, less than the $1.4 billion Sri Lanka paid a Chinese firm to build it.China last year said it was
billion external debt in April 2022, and must restructure its finances as part of an International Monetary Fund bailout.Source:
