Opinion | China-India row over Yuan Wang 5 ‘spy ship’ is sending ripples through the Indian Ocean

The Chinese satellite tracking vessel Yuan Wang 5 left the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota on August 22, after sparking a mini political-diplomatic row between China and India. The muted turbulence is the most recent manifestation of a long-simmering power rivalry in the Indian Ocean between the two Asian giants.

It is instructive that this muscle-flexing took place amid India’s celebration of its 75th anniversary of independence on August 15. In the first few heady years of postcolonial solidarity with China, the dawn of an Asian century with India and China in the vanguard was the cherished vision.

But this vision floundered in a brief border war in October 1962, and territorial disputes now form the core of ongoing bilateral discord. On current evidence, the realisation of long-term cooperation is receding and the troubled Delhi-Beijing relationship remains contradictory, muddied and brittle.

The Yuan Wang 5’s visit to Sri Lanka was shrouded in secrecy, with Colombo grappling with its own domestic crisis. In late July, amid speculation in India about such a port call, the Sri Lankan government said it had not given permission for the visit.