Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has rejected the circulating reports of Chinese militarization of the Hambantota Port facility.
When Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan has called on the Prime Minister on Friday, the Prime Minister has said, “There is no issue of Chinese militarization of the Hambantota Port at all. Sri Lankan Navy is the sole military force responsible for the security of the Port,” he said.
At the meeting, it has been noted that some foreign media irresponsibly hyped the question of militarization of the Hambantota Port out of their own hidden agenda, Chinese Embassy said in a statement.
PM Wickremesinghe highlighted that Sri Lanka and himself have always been strongly supporting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
”Sri Lanka attaches great importance to mega-projects cooperation with China, especially the projects of Hambantota Port and Industrial Park, Colombo Financial City. The Sri Lankan Government hopes to work with the Chinese side to accelerate the implementation of the ongoing projects and attract more Chinese investment in order to promote economic and social development,” he said.
Responding to recent allegations of Chinese militarization at Hambantota Port, Ambassador Cheng pointed out that there is no any military purpose for China to conduct friendly and pragmatic cooperation with Sri Lanka.
“China never interferes in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs and is willing to work with the Sri Lankan side to push forward the latter’s economic and social development by promoting new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, win-win cooperation,” he said.Min
