• Says data from all joint surveys since 2015 belongs to Govt.

National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) yesterday (29) confirmed that the Sri Lankan Government will have access to, and ownership of, data collected by the research conducted with the controversial Chinese geophysical and seismic scientific research vessel Shi Yan–6.

Following the Chinese vessel being authorised by the Government to jointly survey the island’s “western waters”, NARA is to launch a two-day survey on the western coast in collaboration with the Chinese group of researchers, which is to commence today (30).

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (29), NARA Chairman Prof. Jayantha Wijeyaratne said that the research will be carried out on water columns of the western and southern parts of Sri Lanka, and four Sri Lankan researchers representing NARA will be joining the two-day survey. He also said that the survey would be carried out with the permission of the Government of Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lankan Navy will also endorse the survey.

When he was queried about accessibility and ownership of the data collected by the survey, Prof. Wijeyaratne said that all data would belong to the Government and would be monitored by domestic institutions. He also said that the agreement was first signed in 2010, and the data did not belong to Sri Lanka until NARA intervened to get the ownership of data in 2015. He added that all data collected by such surveys now belong to the Government of Sri Lanka since 2015.

The vessel – which is operated by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (SCSIO) of China – began its 80-day research mission to the Indian Ocean in early September. Following concerns raised about the visit of research ships by India, the United States, and other countries following the Yuan Wang–5 visit last year, Sri Lanka has been under diplomatic pressure to avoid visits by Chinese research vessels, which some countries view as “spy ships”, or else, consider the data generated by such surveys to be “dual-purpose” with military applications.

Sri Lanka recently reviewed its standard operating procedure (SOP) – which had been drafted to grant approval for foreign warships, aircraft, and research vessels to traverse Sri Lankan waters, airspace, and to call at local ports – in the wake of the Yuan Wang–5 episode, which strained diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka.