Hambantota Port

The radar base will focus on monitoring the activities of the Indian Navy, apart from attempting to evaluate India's strategic assets in South India

A high-tech Chinese research ship docked at the strategically important Hambantota port departed from Sri Lankan waters on Monday after a controversial six-day visit. The ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship 'Yuan Wang 5' ship was originally scheduled to arrive at the Chinese-run port on August 11 but it was delayed in absence of permission by Sri Lankan authorities following security concerns raised by India. The Chinese ship arrived in the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota on August 16 at 8:20 am local time. It was docked there for replenishment. The ship left the port at 4 pm local time, harbour master Nirmal Silva told reporters here. Its next port call is at China's Jiang Yin port, officials said. The Hambantota port officials said as agreed there was no rotation of personnel during the call. Sri Lanka provided the necessary assistance sought by the Chinese embassy here during the ship's visit. Sri Lanka had asked China to defer the visit amid India's concerns

China will not be allowed to use the southern port of Hambantota for military purposes, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, apparently attempting to allay fears in India and the US about China's increasing maritime presence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Wickremesinghe said this ahead of the arrival of a high-tech Chinese research ship, which on Tuesday docked at the Hambantota Port, which Beijing took over on a 99-year-lease as a debt swap in 2017. We do not want Hambantota to be used for military purposes, Wickremesinghe said on Sunday in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper at the President's House in Colombo. His statement to the Japanese newspaper was apparently aimed at allaying fears in India and the United States about China's increasing maritime presence in the Indo-Pacific. The port was developed as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, but Colombo leased the port to Beijing in 2017 because it became unable to pay back the ...

Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship 'Yuan Wang 5' was to arrive on Thursday and remain at the port until August 17 for replenishment

The road to Hambantota may be paved with Chinese money, but its value is up for debate - now more than ever

The strategic southern port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka is set to become fully functional as a multi-purpose port by the next year, a top official of the company building it said on Monday

Tamil Nadu police are on a high alert over possible protest marches against China and Sri Lanka over the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka constructed by the Chinese

The announcement follows a visit to the Indian Ocean island nation Friday by a Chinese delegation led by Yang Jiechi, a Communist Party Politburo member and a former foreign minister

Rajapaksa said this after holding talks with a high-powered Chinese delegation led by ruling Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi

Rajapaksa on Thursday said he would renegotiate the security arrangements at Hambantota Port, which was leased to a Chinese state-run company for 99 years in 2017

The port is emblematic of the controversy dogging Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative from Kenya to Myanmar

Sri Lankan govt on July 29 signed a $1.1-bn deal to sell a 70% stake in the Hambantota port to China

China Merchants Port Holdings has agreed to reduce its stake in operations to 65% after 10 yrs