Chinese research vessel ‘Shi Yan 6’ to reach Colombo today

The Chinese research ship ‘Shi Yan 6’ will make a port call in Sri Lanka today (Oct. 25), Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry says.

Accordingly, the vessel, about which India remains concerned, is scheduled to dock at Colombo Harbour later today.

However, earlier this month, Minister Sabry had said Shi Yan 6 was given permission to dock here in November, despite China having sought a port call in October.

India’s concerns stemmed from the arrival of high-tech research ship Yuan Wang 5 in Colombo in August 2022.

The island nation’s neighbour on several occasions had expressed its security concerns over Shi Yan 6’s capability of mapping the ocean bed which is critical to anti-submarine operations of the Chinese navy.

In September 2023, Sabry told Indian media that the Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 6 was not given permission to make a port call in October, as negotiations were still on.

He also highlighted that India’s security concerns, which he said were ‘legitimate’, were ‘important’ for the island nation. The Chinese vessel Shi Yan 6 is expected to conduct research with the National Aquatic Resources Research & Development Agency (NARA).