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China has dispatched a military ship to Sri Lanka’s port city of Hambantota in the midst of the rapidly changing political situation in the island nation, voanews.com reported.

The move has raised questions about whether China is trying to establish a strong military presence on Sri Lanka’s Indian Ocean coast.

China’s People’s Liberation Army describes the vessel, Yuan Wang 5, as a survey ship, meant to conduct research in the Indian Ocean. But analysts are asking whether the ship, due to arrive in Hambantota on Aug. 11 and packed with sophisticated electronics for space and satellite tracking, is meant to serve a strategic purpose.

“China’s goal is to put the Hambantota port to dual use, commercial and military. It is trying to build the capability to move and maneuver ships at the port with a military purpose,” Dayan Jayatilleka, a former Sri Lankan diplomat, told VOA.

China has some say about using the port because the Sri Lankan government handed it over to Chinese companies on a 99-year lease in 2017. Colombo was forced to give up control of the port after it failed to repay Chinese loans used to build it.

Sri Lanka’s recently ousted president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is believed to have given his consent to berthing the vessel at the Sri Lankan port. The new government that replaced him after a massive protest movement is unlikely to revoke the decision and stop the vessel from using the port.

“Sri Lanka needs financial assistance, and it would not want to displease China by revoking the permission,” Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, told VOA.

“China’s purpose is to make sure its military ships have easy access to the Sri Lankan port. As long as this goal is met, it has no need to actually build a military base,” said K.P. Fabian, a former deputy high commissioner of India to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is seeking a bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). IMF rules stipulate that a loan-seeking country should reschedule the payment timetable of past debt in order to qualify.

China has refused Sri Lanka’s request to reschedule project loans amounting to nearly $10 billion that have fallen due. Without China’s cooperation, Colombo would be unable to obtain IMF financing and sink deeper into a financial mire.

“[The] Sri Lankan government is hopeful Beijing will come around and accept the request. It also wants a currency swap arrangement to buy Chinese goods,” Perera said.

Sri Lanka is almost without foreign exchange reserves and facing higher world oil prices, which has resulted in a serious energy shortage. The country is also facing a food crisis with millions of people without jobs.

It is possible that China might try to use its influence as a lender to pressure Sri Lanka to allow the creation of Chinese military facilities, which could be used to target China’s rival, India.

“For India, it is a matter that is causing serious concern. China has been trying to create military challenges for India, and this is one such effort,” said Fabian.

A move to establish a Chinese military presence in Sri Lanka will cause concern not only in India but also in other parts of the world because Indian Ocean sea routes connect Asia and Europe.

Outgoing Ambassador of Finland to Nepal Pertti Anttinen paid a farewell call on President Bidya Devi Bhandari in Sheetal Niwas on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the duo discussed issues of mutual interest and bilateral relations between the two countries, spokesperson at the Office of the President Sagar Acharya said.

The All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU), the student wing of CPN-UML, staged a demonstration in the Capital on Wednesday demanding adjustment of prices of petroleum products.

The cadres of ANNFSU staged the demonstration outside the Nepal Oil Corporation.

They staged the demonstration to pile pressure on the government on adjust the prices of petroleum products based on the price list sent by the supplier Indian Oil Corporation.

The US has urged its citizens to be vigilant against possible anti-American violence abroad following the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, BBC reported.

His death could prompt al-Qaeda supporters or other linked terror groups to target US facilities and personnel, said the state department.

Zawahiri was killed by a US drone in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday.

He had helped mastermind the 9/11 attacks on the US in which nearly 3,000 people lost their lives.

The 71-year-old Egyptian doctor took over al-Qaeda after the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

The killing was confirmed on Monday by US President Joe Biden, who said Zawahiri had carved "a trail of murder and violence" against American citizens.

Mr Biden said Zawahiri's death would bring closure to families of the victims of the 2001 attacks, in which hijackers crashed passenger jets into landmark buildings in New York and Washington - including two skyscrapers in Manhattan.

He added that Zawahiri had also masterminded other acts of violence, including the suicide bombing of the USS Cole naval destroyer in Aden in October 2000, which killed 17 US sailors, and the 1998 attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in which 223 people died, according to BBC.

"The Department of State believes there is a higher potential for anti-American violence given the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri on 31 July 2022," the department said in a worldwide caution update.

"Current information suggests that terrorist organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks against US interests in multiple regions across the globe," it added.

"These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings and bombings." 

US citizens are strongly encouraged to maintain a "high level of vigilance and practice good situational awareness" when travelling abroad, the alert added, BBC reported.