New Delhi:Sri Lanka High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda on Monday said his country was working on a framework for cooperation with India to avoid issues such as the docking of the Chinese research ship at the island's southern port at Hambantota last month. Interacting with the media at the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC) here, Moragoda said the decision to allow the docking of the Chinese ship Yuan Wang 5' was taken at the level of officials in the chaotic time when former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was leaving the country.
Approval for this docking was granted when we were in a state of chaos on the ground, the High Commissioner said and asserted that there was no political involvement in the decision. I think the lesson we have learnt is that we need to have very close cooperation and coordination with India and we also need to have a framework of cooperation and we are discussing that, Moragoda said. He said India was the anchor for security in the region.