China to enter new shipping route via Sri Lanka

China begins a new chapter on the international shipping system through a new port that opens in Colombo this week. But the Sri Lankan government has assured India that it will not allow any military use of the new port.
The $500 million Chinese-built port fulfills Beijing's dream of opening an alternative sea route and obtaining access to the Indian Ocean. The new port, Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), is 85% owned by the state-run China Merchant Holdings International, and is located in Colombo in the middle of the east-west sea route.
"We will not allow any military base at our ports nor will we allow them to be used for any strategic military purpose by anyone," Priyath Bandu Wickrama, chairman of the state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority, said. He said India had nothing to fear from the new Colombo port and could in fact be a major beneficiary.
Sri Lanka gave similar assurances to India in June last year when a $450 million deep sea port was opened in the southern Sri Lankan city of Hambantota. Chinese funding and expertise played a key role in making it possible for the Sri Lankan government, which is trying to compete with Singapore as a shipping hub.
Source: The Times of India