Author: TELO Admin

A Chinese research ship docked at a Sri Lankan port on Wednesday, likely adding to neighboring India’s concerns about China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean.

The arrival of the Shi Yan 6 follows last year’s visit by a Chinese naval vessel.

The latest ship was given permission to dock for replenishment at the port of Colombo, the Indian Ocean island’s main port, from Wednesday until Oct. 28, said foreign ministry spokesman Kapila Fonseka.

The vessel had been expected to conduct research with Sri Lankan state institutions, but Fonseka said permission was granted only for replenishment and no research work would be carried out.

“The particular permission is very clear,” he said.

According to Chinese television network CGTN, Shi Yan 6 is a geophysical scientific research vessel on an expeditionary voyage in the eastern area of the Indian Ocean.

Organized by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the vessel is scheduled to operate at sea for 80 days, covering a range of more than 12,000 nautical miles (roughly 22,200 kilometres), CGTN reported.

China has been trying to expand its influence in Sri Lanka, which is located on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes in what India considers part of its strategic backyard.

Beijing was once widely seen as having an upper hand with its free-flowing loans and infrastructure investments. But Sri Lanka’s economic collapse last year provided an opportunity for India as New Delhi stepped in with massive financial and material assistance.

Two weeks ago, Sri Lanka reached an agreement with Export-Import Bank of China on key terms and principles for restructuring its debt, an important step toward unlocking a second installment of a $2.9 billion package from the International Monetary Fund aimed at helping the island nation from its dire economic crisis.

Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in April 2022 with more than $83 billion in debt, more than half to foreign creditors. China accounts for about 10% of Sri Lanka’s loans, trailing Japan and the Asian Development Bank.

Sri Lanka borrowed heavily from China over the past decade for infrastructure projects including a seaport, airport and a city being built on reclaimed land. The projects failed to earn enough revenue to pay for the loans, and in 2017, Sri Lanka leased the seaport in Hambantota to China.

Last year, Chinese navy vessel Yuan Wang 5 docked at Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka. There were fears in India that the vessel could be used to surveil the region.

Two cryptocurrency exchange platforms have been granted authorization to operate within the Port City Special Economic Zone. The Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC) issued these authorizations, marking a notable step in embracing emerging financial technologies.

The two authorized cryptocurrency exchange platforms are Bitazza International Ltd from Thailand and Scallop (Pvt) Ltd from the United Kingdom. These platforms have received the green light to establish their operations within the Colombo Port City, facilitating the exchange and trading of digital currencies.

This decision is expected to open doors for regional cryptocurrency exchanges, as both Bitazza International and Scallop look to establish their presence in the region. Their operations will cater to the growing interest in digital assets and cryptocurrency trading within the Colombo Port City.

The move aligns with the Port City’s commitment to fostering economic growth, innovation, and technological advancement. By allowing cryptocurrency exchanges to operate within the special economic zone, the CPCEC aims to position the Colombo Port City as a hub for financial technology and digital currency-related activities.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) legislator Nimal Lansa, who has reportedly been working on a new alliance backing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, has challenged detractors within the government to try and defeat the upcoming budget.

“What I have to say to [government MPs] Namal Rajapaksa and Sagara Kariyawasam is, if you are opposed to the budget, come and vote against it, defeat the government and go for a parliamentary election. We’re all prepared for that,” Lansa said, speaking to reporters.

“No matter how much they shout, they will not defeat the budget. If you can, accept my challenge and defeat it,” he said.

Lansa’s comments came in the wake of former sports minister Namal Rajapaksa, who sits in the government benches, criticised a controversial electricity tariff hike, which he said the public has blamed on the SLPP, the party led by his father and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

“On the one hand, electricity tariffs are going up, as are taxes and water tariffs. There is also talk of new taxes to be imposed. There are no measures being taken to control cost of living. It’s the SLPP that takes the blame,” he said.

“The budget is coming. We’re waiting to see what he proposes in the budget. With those proposals, we as a party shall take a decision,” he added.

SLPP general secretary Sagara Kariyawasam at a recent press briefing also lamented the blame heaped on the Rajapaksas for the electricity tariff hike.

His colleague MP Rohitha Abeygunawardean, meanwhile, said the SLPP has no intention of breaking up the government.

“We’re not going to break this up halfway through for funsies. We will raise both hands for any good thing the government does. We will stand up for whatever that is good in the budget. We do not, however, plan to support anything we see as wrong,” said Abeygunawardena.

“If you cannot do this, please go to the people. If somebody comes with Aladdin’s lamp and says he can quickly reduce tariffs, we can see about that,” he added.

A defeat of the budget effectively sees the dissolution of parliament, leading to a general election.

With the presidential election just a year away, the SLPP’s continued support for President Wickremesinghe remains up in the air. Lansa, a former confidante of SLPP national organiser Bail Rajapaksa, has reportedly switched allegiances to form a new alliance backing Wickremesinghe.

The SLPP has given mixed signals on which way the party will go and, at the time of writing, there is still no clarity on whether or not the party will field its own candidate.

The Chinese research ship ‘Shi Yan 6’ will make a port call in Sri Lanka today (Oct. 25), Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry says.

Accordingly, the vessel, about which India remains concerned, is scheduled to dock at Colombo Harbour later today.

However, earlier this month, Minister Sabry had said Shi Yan 6 was given permission to dock here in November, despite China having sought a port call in October.

India’s concerns stemmed from the arrival of high-tech research ship Yuan Wang 5 in Colombo in August 2022.

The island nation’s neighbour on several occasions had expressed its security concerns over Shi Yan 6’s capability of mapping the ocean bed which is critical to anti-submarine operations of the Chinese navy.

In September 2023, Sabry told Indian media that the Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 6 was not given permission to make a port call in October, as negotiations were still on.

He also highlighted that India’s security concerns, which he said were ‘legitimate’, were ‘important’ for the island nation. The Chinese vessel Shi Yan 6 is expected to conduct research with the National Aquatic Resources Research & Development Agency (NARA).

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has delivered a verdict, ruling that a lawyer found guilty of unauthorized recording of the testimony given before the presidential commission appointed to investigate the Easter attack will be suspended from practicing law for a duration of eight months.

The suspension is set to take effect from January 1 of the upcoming year. This decision comes following a formal complaint filed by Mr. L.M.B.P. Herath, the Secretary of the Commission. The panel of Supreme Court Judges, comprising Bhuvaneka Aluvihare, S. Thurairaja, and Mahinda Samayawardena, reached this unanimous verdict after careful consideration.

The incident occurred on September 9, when the relevant presidential commission was conducting an inquiry. Mohammad Mursha Mursha, representing the United Lanka Jayamithullah Ulama organization, was providing testimony when he was accused of violating Supreme Court rules by surreptitiously recording the proceedings on a mobile phone.

(The Hindu) – China is trying to expand global military footprints, with a latest Pentagon report naming 18 countries, besides Djibouti and Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, to insist that Beijing has “probably” “considered” them as “locations for PLA (People’s Liberation Army) military logistics facilities”.

Of these considered defence facilities outside the China which would provide PLA military access in case of any operational requirements, four are India’s immediate neighbours — Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Burma (Myanmar) and another three of them — Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia — are in the South East Asia, as per the US Department of Defence’s annual report to Congress on “Military and Security Developments Involving the People Republic of China 2023”.

“The PRC (People’s Republic of China) probably also has considered other countries as locations for PLA military logistics facilities, including Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, Nigeria, Namibia, Mozambique, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Tajikistan,” the annual report released by the US Department of Defence this month stated.

The PLA’s Strategic Support Force (SSF), revealed the US report, operates tracking, telemetry, and command stations in Namibia, Pakistan, Argentina, and Kenya.

The Beijing is doing it to expand its overseas logistics and basing infrastructure to allow the PLA to project and sustain military power at greater distances, the Pentagon report observed but cautioned that its global network “could disrupt US military operations”.

The Pentagon findings also narrated that China has scaled up deployment of forces and infrastructure build-up along the Line of Actual Control since the 2020 Galwan stand off with India in eastern Ladakh. These improvements include underground storage facilities near Doklam, new roads in all three sectors of the LAC, new villages in disputed areas in Bhutan, a second bridge over Pangong Lake, a dual airport and multiple helipads.

The report, at the same time, stated negotiations between India and China “made minimal progress as both sides resisted losing perceived advantages on the border”.

“Since early May 2020, sustained tensions along the India-China border have dominated the Western Theater Command’s attention.” “Differing perceptions between India and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) regarding border demarcations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) combined with recent infrastructure construction on both sides, led to multiple clashes, an ongoing standoff, and military buildups along the shared border,” the report said.

In 2022, China deployed one border regiment, supported by two divisions of Xinjiang and Tibet Military Districts with four combined arms brigades (CAB) in reserve in the western sector of the LAC. “China also deployed as many as three light-to-medium CABs in the eastern sector from other theater commands and an additional three CABs in the central sector of the LAC. Although some elements of a light CAB eventually withdrew, a majority of the deployed forces remain in place along the LAC,” it pointed out on enhanced deployment at the border.

The Galwan face off which, it said, lead to death of 20 Indian Army personnel and four of PLA’s, significantly strained the bilateral ties. The deployment of the PLA’s Western Theater Command, oriented toward India and counterterrorism missions along China’s Central Asia borders, along the LAC will likely continue through 2023, it said.