Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry backed India in New Delhi's diplomatic tussle with Canada, saying "some of the terrorists have found safe haven in Canada.”
In an interview with ANI, the minister slammed Canadain Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying, The Canadian PM has this way of just coming out with some outrageous allegations without any supporting proof. The same thing they did for Sri Lanka, a terrible, total lie about saying that Sri Lanka had a genocide. Everybody knows there was no genocide in our country.”
Pointing out Trudeau's reception of a Nazi war veteran on Monday, Sabry said, “I saw yesterday he had gone and given a rousing welcome to somebody who have associated with the Nazis in the past during the Second World War. So this is questionable and we have dealt with it in the past. I am not surprised that sometime PM Trudeau comes out with outrageous and substantiated allegations."
Sabry also addressed India's concerns about a Chinese research ship docking in its ports. Indian security concerns are "important" for Colombo, he said, adding that the country has not allowed Chinese research vessel named Shi Yan 6 to dock in its territory next month.
The Chinese vessel was scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka in October to conduct research along with the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), according to Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror.
"India has expressed its concerns over a long time, but we have come out with the SOP (standard operating procedure). When we were making that, we consulted many of our friends, including India. So, as long as it complies with the SOP, we have no problem. But if it doesn't comply with the SOP, we have a problem," ANI quoted Sabry as saying.
"So, therefore, as far as I know, we have not given permission to come to Sri Lanka during October. Negotiations are going on. Indian security concerns, which are legitimate, are very, very important for us. We have always told that because we want to keep our region a zone of peace," stated Ali Sabry.
Sabry's statement echoes Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe who had earlier said that an SOP had been framed with regard to foreign vessels carrying out any activity in Sri Lankan territory.
US Under-Secretary Victoria Nuland, during her meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry on the sidelines of the 78th session if the UNGA, had raised concerns regarding Shi Yan 6's visit. He reportedly told her that Sri Lanka had been even-handed in this approach for all nations and could not exclude China from the process
Taking to X, Nuland stated, "The US supports a strong and prosperous Sri Lanka. Our work together continues at #UNGA. I met with @MFA_SriLanka Minister Ali Sabry to discuss U.S. economic assistance, human rights, and our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific."
Earlier this month, a top source in India’s military establishment had told THE WEEK that the Shi Yang 6’s visit is meant to engineer a crack in the bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka.
“For China, the Shi Yan 6—with its planned underwater and hydrographic survey—will be able to collect all sorts of data that is required for any future operation including movement by Chinese submarines by mapping the terrain on the sea bed.”
“On the other hand, Sri Lanka is looking at data on sediment thickness of the continental shelf so that its sea territorial claims can be made before the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS).”
“At the moment, Sri Lanka’s territorial claim on the seas is excessive and is therefore on the lookout for sedimentation data which it hopes the Shi Yan 6 will be able to provide,” the source had said. According to UN laws, one of the ways in which a coastal state may establish the outer limits of its juridical continental shelf, wherever the continental margin extends beyond 200 nautical miles is by establishing the commonality of sediments.
As we reported earlier, Sri Lanka is delicately positioned between India and China and cannot displease both the countries. China is Sri Lanka’s biggest single creditor while India had bailed out the the country with a $4 billion handover in 2022.
– with inputs from ANI
