Sri Lanka completes SOP for foreign research vessels: Minister

Sri Lanka will complete the standard of procedure (SOP) for handling foreign research vessels within the next two months, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.

The island nation has dragged the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to handle research ships in the past two years after arrivals of Chinese research vessels into the island nation’s shore were strongly opposed by the United States and India citing possible security threat to the Indian Ocean.

“We have finalised the SOP and given it to Attorney General Department,” Minister Hearth told EconomyNext.

Facing international pressure, the previous Sri Lankan government led by Ranil Wickremesinghe imposed a one-year moratorium over foreign research vessels in December 2023.

Since it elapsed in January 2025 indecisiveness has dragged the decision on foreign research vessels, analysts say.

The pressure from India and the U.S., two QUAD members, came after two Chinese research vessels came to the island nation within 14 months.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake-led government’s cabinet in January 2025 decided to appoint a new committee to review the existing SOP and come up with a new SOP on the visits of all the foreign research ships.

The Committee led by Foreign Minister Herath was to come up with the criteria for SOP, but faced delay.

Sri Lanka has been facing diplomatic challenges in allowing foreign research vessels within its waters due to geopolitical issues related to India and China.

Sri Lanka and China have agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on maritime cooperation amid Indian concerns over Chinese research ships visiting the Indian Ocean.

In April last year, Sri Lanka signed a Defence Cooperation MOU which said both neighbour countries will exchange information in maritime and other domains on mutual consent without elaborating.