'Yuan Wang 5' in Indian neighbourhood: 'China loves to create tension'
'Yuan Wang 5' docking in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port is part of China's hegemonic exercise, say experts while highlighting that China is the only country that has no trust value worldwide. "Its primary objective is to grab the lands and waters of the neighbouring countries," they said.
FollowEven as Sri Lanka continues to grapple with the ongoing economic and political crisis, the entry of the Chinese spy ship 'Yuan Wang 5' at the island nation's Hambantota Port has raised eyebrows in neighbouring India.
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The ship, capable of tracking ballistic missiles and satellites, docked hours after India gifted a surveillance aircraft, Dornier 228, to Sri Lanka. The aircraft is said to be a force multiplier enabling Sri Lanka to tackle multiple challenges, including human and drug trafficking, smuggling and other organised forms of crime in its coastal waters more effectively.
Why is the 'Yuan Wang 5' a concern for India?
As per the experts, India is apprehensive about the docking of the ship in Hambantota as it is just 450 km away from India's Kanyakumari and can snoop on Indian installations near the Sri Lankan waters.
Experts also believe that the spy ship's tracking range of 750 km allows it to monitor the Indian Space Research Organisation's base at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and the Kalpakkam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
Image: Chinese tracking vessel Yuan Wang 5 berths at the Hambantota port on 16 August 2022. Photograph: Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto/Getty Images
It should be noted that India and China have been engaged in a border standoff since May 2020 that even led to a violent faceoff in the Galwan Valley on June 15 same year.
A report from Sri Lanka suggested that the vessel was allowed to dock at the port but has been asked not to conduct any 'research' in the region.
Professor Vijay Kumar Verma, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delhi's Dayal Singh College, said, "It is China's hegemonic exercise. It is the only country that has no trust value worldwide. Its primary objective is to grab the lands and waters of the neighbouring countries."
"Look at the countries it has boundaries with. It has disputes with almost every country. However, it resolved the boundary disputes with some, but it was in its favour only. It loves to create tension in the region," he added.
"Since it is a tracking ship, it is certainly a concern for India. You can never trust them, and it is no wonder if it (China) establishes a military base in the island country," he said.
According to Defence and strategic expert Major General Ashok Kumar (Retd), "When news came of the Chinese spy ship planning to dock at Hambantota, India approached Sri Lanka not to allow this spy ship to dock at Hambantota. Based on this, the Sri Lankan government in power understood the genuineness of this requirement and requested the Chinese government to defer the docking. However, the Chinese persisted, and in a way, they have disregarded the sovereign rights of Sri Lanka and have had a forced docking at Hambantota albeit being shown as per permission of Sri Lankan government."
"Though this docking is being said to have taken place after the fresh sanction of the Sri Lankan government, that is not the whole truth. Sri Lanka, on the one hand, has already allowed a Pakistani ship to come to this island nation and is doing a joint exercise. Secondly, it has now allowed the Chinese spy ship to dock, which has got a dual purpose, including spying on the Indian strategic assets," he said.
Image: Chinese tracking vessel Yuan Wang 5 berths at the Hambantota port on 16 August 2022. Photograph: Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto/Getty Images
"Due to this approach of Sri Lanka, India has to be very careful in dealing with its neighbour. Sri Lanka's well-being and independence are very critical for its own national good but at the same time, India has to mount a diplomatic effort to wean away Sri Lanka from undue influences of China and Pakistan in due course of time. If Sri Lanka continues to play in Chinese hands, it will be counter-productive to the strategic interest of India," the expert said.
The 'Yuan Wang 5'
Built at the Jiangnan shipyard in China and commissioned in 2005, the Yuan Wang 5 is a 222-metre long and 25.2-metre wide and has been a part of several missions since 2007.
The third-generation tracking ship of the Yuan Wang series recently participated in a maritime monitoring mission for the launch of the Wentian laboratory cabin module of the Tiangong space station. Experts believe that China wants to establish its influence in the Indian Ocean region through this spy ship.
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