Eye on China, Rajnath Singh to visit Sri Lanka this weekend

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka over the coming weekend. The visit comes at a time when the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry is considering a fresh request from China to allow the visit of a research ship.

As per the defence sources, Defence minister is scheduled to go on a two-day visit to the island nation. Sri Lankan media has reported, Mr. Singh is expected to visit Trincomalee where India is jointly investing in the joint development of Oil Tank farm, under an agreement signed in January 2022.

Noting that India is committed to help Sri Lankan armed forces in “capacity and capability-building”, they said New Delhi has extended a $150 million defence line of credit to Colombo. “Out of this, around $100 million credit has been utilised so far,” they said.

Last week, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry acknowledged receiving a request from the Chinese Embassy. The research vessel Shiyan-6 is expected to arrive in October. This request comes shortly after a Chinese warship docked at the Colombo Port from August 10 to August 12, exactly a year after the visit of a Chinese vessel ‘Yuan Wang-5’ caused a major diplomatic showdown between New Delhi and Colombo.

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