A final decision on the date of arrival and the territories of operation of the Chinese geophysical and seismic survey vessel “Shi Yan 6” is to be taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, President’s Counsel Ali Sabry, and be referred to the Cabinet of Ministers as soon as possible, Foreign Affairs Ministry sources said.
When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (6), the spokesperson of the Ministry, Priyanga Wickramasinghe said that the Ministry is yet to reach a final decision on the date of arrival and the territories of operation of “Shi Yan 6” – which has already been granted approval to carry out research in Sri Lankan waters with the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) – adding, however, that a decision on the aforementioned details will be taken by Sabry and referred to the Cabinet expeditiously.
When queried by The Daily Morning as to whether the Defence Ministry had consulted the Foreign Affairs Ministry in this regard, the former Ministry’s Director - Media and spokesperson Colonel Nalin Herath said that the decision regarding those matters would be taken by the Foreign Ministry, since it is not under the purview of the Defence MInistry.
According to sources within the Ministry of Defence, it has granted approval for “Shi Yan 6” to carry out research on Sri Lankan waters with NARA, and the approval was granted on being requested by both NARA and the Foreign Affairs Ministry. According to reports, China had requested permission for a research ship to dock in Sri Lanka following a visit by a spacecraft-tracking vessel last year (2022) which sparked security concerns from neighbouring India.
The Daily Morning earlier reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not made any objection to the request made by China, since it looks at this request in the context of a research vessel which had previously conducted research in Sri Lanka with the participation of NARA's scientists. Meanwhile, NARA told The Daily Morning that all data collected by “Shi Yan 6” would be in their possession, and that the data would be considered to be property of the Government of Sri Lanka.