China says submarine called port in Sri Lanka on its way to Somalia on anti-piracy mission
Saturday, 27 September 2014 00:25
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Beijing: China has dismissed reports that a port call of a Chinese submarine at Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port is a demonstration of Chinese Navy developing its strength into the Indian Ocean.
Geng Yansheng, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People’s Republic of China at a regular media briefing said the Chinese submarine docked at Colombo Port on September 15 is on an anti-piracy escort mission to Gulf of Aden and such port calls are a common practice of the navies.
The Changzheng 2, a Type 091 Han-class nuclear-powered submarine docked at Colombo Port in Sri Lanka on September 15, has become the first Chinese submarine to visit Sri Lanka.
The spokesman said a PLA Navy submarine is currently setting to the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia to join the PLA Navy escort task force in conducting escort mission, and on its way to the mission area the PLA Navy submarine anchored at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka.
He pointed out that that it is a common practice for navies of all countries to have their submarines and ships replenished at certain intervals at ports.
“The escort task force, as well as the submarine joining the escort mission, is the regular activity included in the PLA Navy’s annual program,” the spokesman explained.
China’s massive investments in the development of Sri Lanka’s Hambantota and Colombo ports have raised concerns in neighboring India that China is building up military strength in the Indian Ocean.
