The story of the 'Yuan Wang' ship... Vinit Vartak ©
On August 16, 2022, at 8:20 am, the Chinese ship Yuan Wang 5 entered the port of Hambantota, Sri Lanka. The ship was embroiled in controversy before reaching Sri Lanka. India had expressed strong disapproval of officially allowing the ship to enter the Sri Lankan port. Apart from India, the US had expressed its displeasure in allowing this Chinese ship to stop in Sri Lanka. India was the only country that helped Sri Lanka when it was going through financial crisis. Then why did Sri Lanka allow this ship to come to its country against India's opposition? What exactly is in this ship? What is the politics behind China? Why is this an alarm bell for India? Overall, what should India do in this situation? Or what would have done? We as common Indians have to answer these questions.
The Chinese word 'Yuan Wang' means 'foresight'. Now from the name you may have noticed that such a ship can see far away. China has built 7 ships in this series so far. 4 of them are still working, 2 are retired and 1 has been destroyed as a target. So these ships are waterborne spies. Although China says that these ships are laboratories, no one believes any of China's words. China's Yuan Wang 5 ship has optical, laser, radar and all kinds of wave detection capabilities. These ships are basically built for the same job. The purpose behind making this ship is to study satellite flight, ballistic missile, rocket flight and provide the technical side of it to the Chinese army. Its capability is to detect any such objects at a distance of about 750 to 800 kilometers and analyze their technical aspects. If these technical matters fall into the hands of the Chinese military, they will be able to decipher any country's missile, rocket or other secret.
China is now trying to establish its supremacy in the Indian Ocean after the South China Sea. But the biggest obstacle in his efforts is the Indian Navy. Also, China is not alarmed by the speed with which India is advancing in missile technology, but is wary. China's headache is not India but India providing its missile technology to small countries in South East Asia. Because these countries have the power to challenge China's one-armed rule in the South China Sea. That is why China has taken advantage of Sri Lanka's helplessness to unravel the intricacies of India's missile and rocket technology. In 2017, the government of Sri Lanka, which was stuck in economic quagmire, leased the same Hambantota port to China for 99 years. Now this means that theoretically China can bring or dock any ship in this port. Although this is very dangerous for a country's sovereignty, China does not beg the United Nations or international arbitration. He is like a moneylender. Who doesn't care what others think. For him its benefit is paramount.
After hearing that a Chinese spy ship would come so close to India, India had objected to it. This is because even though the ship is in Hambantota port, it has the capability to look 800 kilometers away. In this area, India's two most important nuclear projects, ISRO's launch site at Sriharikota, along with India's Kalam Island from which India tests all its missiles, come within sight of the ship. Information about such secret and sensitive places in India reaching the Chinese army was an alarm bell for India. Even if India applied diplomatic pressure, it was not in Sri Lanka's hands whether to allow the ship to come there or not. Sri Lanka has already sold everything to China. That puts a limit on how much opposition Sri Lanka can actually put up. If you keep a tenant, you can tell not to have too many guests in the house, but you can't decide who he / she should invite or who should enter his house. This was the reality of Sri Lanka. Under pressure from India, Sri Lanka initially refused to recognize the ship, but when China clarified the terms of the deal, Sri Lanka and its government were completely helpless. Sri Lanka had no choice but to give the ship a red carpet welcome.
India was already aware of this. India resisted the ship as much as possible and gave it as much international publicity as possible. This was also a part of the move played by India. This ship came on the radar of many other countries including India. It came on the radar of many other countries including America, Australia, Japan. This gave an advantage that many countries were ready to monitor exactly what this ship was going to do in Hambantota port. The benefit to India is that if any information is leaked or not known by India, the information can be shared as this country monitors it. China wanted to play this trick secretly but India exposed the true face of China by giving it international publicity. Stealth or surprise is very important in such a mission. But India took away exactly this part from it. India has already informed all its important institutions about this. Clear instructions were given on what precautions to take and what to avoid. The mechanism was worked out so that the least or most wrong information would be received by the Chinese ship. India's spy satellites were diverted from space to this ship. Therefore, China's Yuan Wang mission is almost a failure.
On August 22, 2022, after completing its 7-day stay at Hambantota port, the ship again left for China. Overall, it is clear that China has failed in what it wanted to achieve. But the danger is not over for India. India will have to keep a close eye on such steps of China. It is clear that henceforth these Chinese yuan wang will continue to be brought to the port of Sri Lanka. India cannot stop him. But can take steps to protect himself while the ship is here. China started its move almost 20 years ago. When he dragged Sri Lanka in his net in the name of developing Hambantota port. That is why India has to recognize these steps and move forward.
India has given one Indian Navy Dornier aircraft to Sri Lanka for free for two years on August 15, 2022 despite Sri Lanka's counter-steps. Now one may say that why should we help Sri Lanka which is stabbing us in the back and accepting the Chinese ship? So this is not the time to test friendship. Sri Lanka is totally helpless right now. Even if India does not help, no one can stop China from bringing ships to Sri Lankan ports.Think if we also put Sri Lanka under the wall, Sri Lanka will further fall under China's rule. China will still take advantage of this. India cannot afford it at all. Note that China took steps 20 years ago to taste the fruits of today. If we want to keep Sri Lanka with us in the future, we have to work on it now. Although no one can say today whether it will bear fruit now or how much it will bear in the future, it is comforting for India that Sri Lanka did not allow the Chinese ship to enter its port easily because of India's words. Things take time to change. It is a fact that if Indian rulers had noticed this move by China 20 years ago, the situation might not have become so serious today.
So this is the story of the Yuan Wang ship. Which is now on its way back with empty hands. But whenever it comes again, we must be more alert than we are today.
Jai Hind!!!
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