Chinese ship set to dock in Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed that Chinese vessel sought clearance to call at southern Hambantota Port in August.

Key Highlights

• Vessel will be in Hambantota mainly for replenishment, including fuel.
• There were reports of the vessel involved in space and satellite tracking.
• Sri Lanka said such vessels came periodically from various countries such as India, China, Japan and Australia.
• Analysts are closely watching the development, given the past tensions between Sri Lanka and India especially after SL allowed a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine to dock at its port in 2014.

Prelims take away

• Location based question
• Nuclear-powered submarine