Sri Lanka's foreign minister has confirmed with NHK that his country will no longer ban foreign research ships from its ports next year. Sri Lanka sits at a strategic point in the Indian Ocean.
The government banned foreign research ships from its ports for a year starting in January. This came after a port call by a Chinese surveillance ship in 2022 raised concerns with neighboring India.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said his government cannot have different rules for different countries and only block China. He added that his country will not take sides in a dispute between others.
Fears grew in India that the Chinese ship could monitor its ballistic missile and satellite launches. New Delhi raised those concerns with Sri Lanka.
Beijing has denied that the vessel had such capabilities. But Sri Lanka declared a yearlong moratorium on foreign research ships nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry also expressed gratitude for Japan's plan to provide a ship equipped with sonar.
He said this will give Sri Lanka an opportunity to do its own survey and collect its own data, and commercially exploit it by sharing it with the rest of the world.
Sabry emphasized that Sri Lanka has untapped maritime resources, and research is essential, but it has to be done in a transparent manner.