MDMK founder Vaiko on Sunday condemned the Sri Lankan government for clearing the arrival of Chinese vessel Yuan Wang 5 at Hambantota port in the island nation, and urged New Delhi to prevent the ship from docking at the port.
In a statement, the Rajya Sabha member referred to reports on Sri Lanka’s decision and said, “The Government of India should never allow such actions of the Government of Sri Lanka. I urge India to focus on this issue and stop the vessel’s visit.”
If the vessel was allowed into Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka, it could ‘monitor’ nuclear establishments located at Kalpakkam and Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Vaiko said, adding that it could also gather intelligence on major coastal ports in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
"The positioning of the Chinese intelligence vessel near the Palk Strait in the Indian Ocean, near India's southern boundary, is a challenge to the country's security set-up," Mr. Vaiko said, and pointed out that he had raised the issue during Zero Hour in Parliament on August 3.
