Sri Lanka refuses permission for Chinese submarine to dock at Colombo port: Sources

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has rejected China‘s request to dock one of its submarines in Colombo this month, two senior government officials said on Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the island nation.

Sri Lanka last allowed a Chinese submarine to dock+ in the capital of Colombo in October 2014, a move that triggered fierce opposition from India, which worries about growing Chinese activity in a country it has long viewed as part of its area of influence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday for a two-day official visit+ . A senior Sri Lankan government official said China’s request to dock one of its submarines in Colombo this month had been rejected. He said Sri Lanka was “unlikely” to agree to China’s request to dock the submarine at any time, given India’s concerns. The official asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The second official, at the defence ministry, also said China’s request to dock this month had been rejected but that a decision on a further docking had been postponed.

“It might happen later,” the second official said, adding that China had requested approval to use the port around May 16 “sometime back”. (Reuters)