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No foreign research vessels until Govt. finalises new SOP
View(s):Permission for foreign research vessels entering Sri Lanka’s territorial waters will be stalled till the Government finalises new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), for the purpose of which a committee headed by Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has been set up.
Mr. .Herath told the Sunday Times that while the inter-ministerial committee has begun sittings; it is some way off from finalising recommendations based on which the new SOP for foreign research vessels will be drafted.
In December 2023, the then Governments declared a one-year moratorium on permitting foreign research vessels in its territorial waters amidst pressure by India and the United States over Chinese vessels coming for research purposes.
The moratorium ended in December last year but the Government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced it would not extend the moratorium but instead appoint a committee to draft new SOP for such vessels.
However in the interim period, the Government will not allow any foreign research vessels to dock here. “No new SOP, no permission for entry of research vessels,” Mr.Herath said.
He said that the committee was studying the SOPs adopted by other countries before it finalises the new guidelines but it was not possible to put a timeline for when the new SOP would be ready.
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