Colombo. Sri Lanka has made it clear that it will not allow China to use its land against India at any cost. In this matter, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that Sri Lanka will not be allowed to be used as a base for any threats against India. He said the island nation would remain neutral and would not have any military ties with China.
Wickremesinghe, who is on an official visit to Britain and France, made the remarks during an interview with French state media. In an interview Wickremesinghe said that we are a neutral country, but we also stress on the fact that we cannot allow Sri Lanka to be used as a base for any threats against India. Responding to a question about the alleged military presence of China in Sri Lanka, the President said that the Chinese have been in the country for almost 1500 years and there is no military base till now.
Wickremesinghe stressed that the island nation has no military ties with China and will never have one.
I don’t think China will be involved in this. The President said there is no issue of military use by the Chinese of the southern port of Hambantota, which Beijing took on a 99-year lease in 2017 as a debt swap. Last year, Sri Lanka allowed the Chinese ballistic missile and satellite reconnaissance ship Yuva Wang five to dock at the Hambantota port, triggering concerns in India and the US over China’s growing presence in the strategic Indian Ocean region.
India had apprehensions that the ship’s reconnaissance system might attempt to spy on Indian installations while on its way to a Sri Lankan port. ( PLC/GT )
