President: No spy ships coming to Sri Lanka

No Chinese spy ships had arrived in Sri Lanka, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said, addressing the Islands Dialogue, a conference hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, on the sidelines of the U.N.’s General Assembly annual sessions.

President Wickremesinghe said that no one had any evidence to prove that spy ships were visiting Sri Lanka, and Chinese research vessels came because the Chinese Academy of Sciences had agreements with the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) and several universities.

“Research ships have been coming for the last 10 years. There is no issue here. One of the countries raised the issue whether these research vessels could be used for spying,” he said.

Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka had a standard operating procedure (SOP) for granting permission for foreign vessels. This was set by the Sri Lankan Navy, he said.

The President said discussions had recently been held with India on the SOP and Sri Lanka had accommodated the amendments suggested by India.

“So, any ship that is coming now is subjected to a procedure we have come up with in consultation with India. So, I can’t see any ship that is a threat to India coming to Sri Lanka,” President Wickremesinghe said.