Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary Vaiko said Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port in the hands of China is a threat to India’s global interests.
He further said,
The Government of Sri Lanka has leased the port of Hambantota, located at an important point in the southern part of Sri Lanka by sea between Europe and Asia, to a Chinese state-owned company for 99 years.
The port of Hambantota, located near the Malacca Strait near the Suez Canal, has the capacity to handle 36,000 vessels. This includes 4,500 oil tankers. The port can reduce the travel time to about three days for ships passing through that port. This will significantly reduce fuel demand.
China has leased the port of Hambantota in the Indian Ocean from Sri Lanka for $ 1.12 million and is working to maintain its dominance in the region.
A law has been passed in the Sri Lankan parliament to allow the Sri Lankan government to acquire 269 hectares of land and hand it over to China to set up a special economic zone adjacent to the Hambantota port.
Efforts are underway for China’s dream project to create new routes called the New Silk Road to connect the roads and ports between China and Europe.
As the port of Hambantota in the Indian Ocean will be a major port for China’s ‘New Silk Road’ project, there is a risk that the region could become a Chinese military base.
The Government of India should consider that, if a Chinese naval base developed just 290 km from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, it will go against India’s global interests.
If China, which backed the Sri Lankan government to massacre the Tamil people in Eelam, dares to seize the seas closest to Tamil Nadu and deploy troops there, Tamil Nadu will suffer.
Therefore, I urge the Union Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu to act with the utmost care. ”
