SME Times News Bureau | 14 Dec, 2017
After Sri Lanka handed over the Hambantota port to China on a 99-year
lease last week, India on Thursday said it expects Colombo to keep the
region's security concerns in mind.
External Affairs Ministry
spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, while expressing confidence at India's
"strong and enduring ties with Sri Lanka", said New Delhi's relations
with Colombo "stand on its own and is not dependent on our relations
with any third country".
"We continue to take up with Sri Lanka
issues related to the security concerns in the region and expect that
our Sri Lankan friends will keep in mind our security concerns and
sensitivities," he said.
The Hambantota port was handed over to
the China Merchant Ports Holdings (CMPH) on a 99-year lease agreement at
a ceremony on December 9. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority together with
the CMPH will manage the operations of the southern port.
The
port is considered one of the major projects under China's One Belt One
Road (OBOR) initiative, which India has kept away from.
India is one of the largest development aid partners of Sri Lanka.
