China unhappy with Lanka’s ban on ‘research’ vessels

New Delhi, February 29

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China is reported to have expressed its displeasure to Sri Lanka over its one-year moratorium on research vessels from carrying out any study in its country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), reported Sri Lankan media.

The ban also means that Chinese research vessels, which are making increasingly frequent forays in the Indian Ocean, will also be kept out for a year starting from January 3, 2024. The ban on Chinese ships in Sri Lanka’s EEZ is seen as a victory for India.

On December 31 last year, Sri Lanka had informed India that it would not allow any foreign research vessels to dock at its ports or operate within its EEZ for a year. In July last year, PM Narendra Modi had asked Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe to be sensitive to India’s strategic and security concerns. The immediate fall out was that Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 3 could not dock in Colombo last month.