The Sri Lankan government has allowed a Chinese research vessel to stay in a major port on the island, despite concerns expressed by India that it was spying on New Delhi's military facilities.
And port officials told AFP that the ship "Yuan Wang 5" had obtained the green light to dock in the port, on the condition that it committed not to conduct any research while it was in Sri Lankan territorial waters.
And "Yuan Wang 5" is a research and survey ship, but Indian media confirm - quoting Indian officials - that it is a spy ship.
India is concerned about China's growing influence in the Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka, which New Delhi considers part of its sphere of influence.
This ship was originally scheduled to stop at Hambantota port on August 11, but Colombo has postponed several times the ship's docking due to Indian protests.
In 2017, Colombo was forced to grant a Chinese company the concession to operate the Hambantota port for 99 years after it failed to repay Beijing's $1.4 billion debt.
China is Sri Lanka's largest external creditor, and its share of Sri Lanka's external debt has exceeded 10%.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its external debt of $51 billion in mid-April, and the island is currently negotiating with the International Monetary Fund on a possible rescue plan.