Worry for India: Chinese cargo ship ‘Yuan Wang-5’ arrives in Sri Lanka

 

New Delhi: China’s satellite and missile tracking ship reached Sri Lanka despite strict warnings from India. This ship arrived at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka this morning. However, Sri Lanka has already permitted this Chinese ship.

According to reports, Sri Lanka had earlier asked to suspend the Chinese ships amid the concerns of India and the US.

But after a few days, Sri Lanka reneged on its promise. And this Chinese junk ship allowed Wan Wang-5 to reach its port. However, after reaching Sri Lanka, New Delhi is worried that the tracking system of the Chinese cargo ship will try to spy on the data of many Indian companies.

Yuan Wang-5 is a spy ship

The Yuan Wang 5, designated as a spy ship, was built in 2007 and has a displacement of 11,000 tons. The ship left Jiangyin, China on July 13 and is now near Taiwan. According to the Marine Traffic website, the vessel is in the East China Sea between southern Japan and northeast Taiwan.

The ship is specialized in space and satellite tracking. China monitors the launch sites of satellites, rockets, and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) through the Yuan Wang-class ships. China has seven such ships, capable of operating across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. These ships conduct reconnaissance and transmit complete information to a land-based tracking station in Beijing.

According to the US Department of Defense, the ship is operated by the PLA’s Strategic Support Force (SSF). The SSF is a theater command-level organization. It assists the PLA in space, cyber, electronic, information, communications, and psychological warfare missions. Earlier, when China launched the Long March 5B rocket in 2022, the launch came under surveillance. Recently, it was also involved in marine monitoring of the launch of the first lab module of China’s Tiangong Space Station.