When the distresses in Sri Lanka were overwhelmed and the President had fled the nation, no other than India came to help out Sri Lanka and her people. But now Sri Lanka is paying back to India by giving shelter and replenishments to a Chinese Spy Ship Yuan Wang 5 at the Hambantota Port. India and the US have continuously requested Sri Lanka not to shelter the spy ship in their territorial waters and at first Sri Lanka accepted that but now the Ship will be at Sri Lankan port till the 22nd of August.
The Sri Lankan navy which recently got a Dornier marine surveillance and rescue plane as a gift from India welcomed the Spy Ship with loud applause. But on the other hand, how can you say no to the nation which is your biggest creditor and by the same country you are now in a debt trap?
Sri Lanka has borrowed more than 10% of its debt crisis money from China and they are seeking more loans from the CCP. This could have been the biggest factor for Sri Lanka to let Yuan Wang 5 replenish at the Hambantota Port. Besides, the Hambantota Port is under Chinese occupation for 99 years as Sri Lanka took a huge loan from China to build the port and failed to repay so China took over the entire port.
The range of the Spy Ship is estimated between 250KM to 470KM and it can even track satellites flying over it. It can track all the military, naval, and air force activities taking place deep inside Indian territories from Hambantota port. At this time when the tensions around the Taiwan strait are very high, the arrival of a Chinese Spy Ship near Indian territorial waters can be a very calculated move made by the CCP and PLA.
But according to some other sources the ship can track up to 750KM. To counter the ship India and USA have repositioned their spy satellites over Hambantota port and the Indian Ocean area.
Apart from our naval and air force activities the spy ship can track our southern nuclear reactors and powerplants, and gather crucial technical data that might get used during a conflict with India.
On the other hand, the first-ever US Navy Ship, Charles Drew is currently at Chennai Port for repair and replenishment. Yuan Wang 5 can track that ship too. This is why the USA showed its concerns and asked Sri Lanka not to give the Chinese spy ship to dock at their port.
But after all this India cannot afford to take a strong position against Sri Lanka. And Sri Lanka knows this very well. So, they will keep getting the benefits from both warring states India and China equally. But India needs to draw a line somewhere, we cannot just let Sri Lanka and on other hand, Nepal exploit our goodwill and facilities.
On the other hand, QUAD is adding a new way of tracking with the help of Singapore. India and Singapore will launch a joint satellite on behalf of QUAD to keep a track of Chinese vessels active on the sea. This could be the best reply India and QUAD can give China for sending the Yuan Wang 5 to the Indian Ocean.