Chinese Spy Ship Yuan Wang 5 Docks at Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port Amid India’s Concerns
News 18Sri Lankan news agencies reported that the Chinese spy ship Yuan Wang 5 reached the Hambantota Port on Tuesday morning. The Yuan Wang 5 spy ship has become a political headache for Sri Lanka as India and its allies oppose the ship’s docking at the sea port. The port is of strategic importance to India as it considers the Indian Ocean Region as an area of traditional influence and has raised issues with the Sri Lankan government in 2014 as well after it allowed a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine to dock in one of its ports creating an almost similar situation once more after eight years. Earlier, US ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung also voiced concerns about the ship’s arrival at Hambantota Port but Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe ignored the diplomat’s worries.