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After the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration permitted the Chinese ballistic missile tracking ship Wang Yuan 5 to dock at Hambantota despite India raising a red flag over the move, both the US and India made it clear that Colombo should not permit the docking of Chinese military vessels or strategic surveillance ships on its ports.

India has raised severe concerns with Colombo over the country's decision to permit covert refuelling of Chinese military ships on the high seas by Sri Lankan tankers using the port of Hambantota that China has leased.

According to diplomats stationed in Colombo, New Delhi has requested that Sri Lanka develop open standard operating procedures (SOPs) for ship fueling and docking and forbid Chinese military vessels from docking or refuelling in the ports of Hambantota or Colombo. It was seen that Sri Lankan ships were refuelling Chinese warships on the open seas while carrying petroleum from the Hambantota port, eluding Indian and larger US concerns.