Chinese ‘research vessel’ Shin Yan 6 docks at Colombo Port amid India’s security concerns
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The Chinese Shin Yan 6, which India believes is a spy vessel, landed in Colombo on Wednesday (October 25). The vessel has been granted permission to dock at the city, where a Chinese state-owned business runs a deep-sea container facility, according to a spokeswoman for the Sri Lankan foreign ministry.
The 90-metre (300-foot) warship was spotted approaching Colombo's harbor on Wednesday evening.
Vessel for scientific research
The Shi Yan 6 is a "scientific research vessel" with a crew of 60 that will undertake oceanography, geology, and marine ecology tests.
According to Chinese authorities, their major goal is to conduct a comprehensive assessment that includes both the island nation's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the region of the southern Indian Ocean.
However, India claims that the research ship is a covert surveillance vessel snooping on Indian military assets situated in the southern area bordering Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which acts as a base for the Indian Air Force and Navy.
Previously, the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), the top agency in charge of research, stated that China's Shi Yan 6 will be arriving in Sri Lanka as part of an agreement signed with the University of Ruhuna.
Concerns in India
Later, the University of Ruhuna declared that it has chosen to withdraw from the planned research program with the Chinese scientific research vessel.
The University of Ruhuna revealed that one of the two university academics who represented the university in agreeing to do cooperative study with the Shi Yan 6 had moved abroad, while the other had left the country's university system entirely.