Sri Lanka says China survey ship can dock in its port

Sri Lanka said on Saturday it has agreed that the Chinese survey vessel Yuan Wang 5 can dock at its southernmost port, the Chinese-run Hambantota on August 16, despite security concerns raised by neighbouring India and the United States, Reuters reports.

Foreign security analysts describe the Yuan Wang 5 as one of China's latest generation space-tracking ships, used to monitor satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.

Both China and India have tried to expand their influence in Sri Lanka, which is facing its worst economic crisis in its post-independence history.