India-Sri Lanka Relations: Sri Lankan land will not be allowed to be used against India, President Wickremesinghe bluntly
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Wickremesinghe, who is on an official visit to Britain and France, made the remarks during an interview with French state media on Monday.
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 on Monday.
China has no military base in Sri Lanka
In an interview with France24, 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.
Chinese lease of Hambantota port was also mentioned
Wickremesinghe emphasized that the island nation has no military agreement with China and said there will be no military agreement. 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.
China’s presence in the Indian Ocean
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.
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