A Chinese research vessel 'Yuang Yang 5' entered Sri Lanka's Chinese-run southern port of Hambantota on Tuesday despite concerns from India and the United States about its activities.

Sri Lanka has asked China to defer the planned visit of a Chinese survey ship to the island country after an objection from India, a government source told Reuters on Sunday.

China said on Friday it hoped "relevant parties" would refrain from interfering with its legitimate maritime activities, after New Delhi voiced concern over a Chinese military ship's planned visit to a port in India's southern neighbour Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's protest movement reached its 100th day Sunday, having forced one president from office and now turning its sights on his successor as the country's economic crisis continues

Sri Lanka's parliament accepted the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday after he fled the country, paving the way for lawmakers to start repairing the island's shattered politics and resume efforts to ease its economic crisis.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was expected to head to Singapore after fleeing to the Maldives in the early hours of Wednesday, a government source in Sri Lanka told Reuters, as protests continued in Colombo.

Sri Lanka's main opposition party will nominate its leader, Sajith Premadasa, as the country's next president when elections are held in parliament on July 20, a party official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka's president headed to a naval base Tuesday with a view to fleeing his island by ship following a humiliating standoff at the airport, official sources said.

Sri Lanka's parliament will elect a new president on July 20, its speaker said on Monday, after protesters stormed the residences of the current president and prime minister, who have both offered to quit amid an economic meltdown.

Sri Lanka's embattled president was flown to an airbase near the main international airport Monday, officials said, raising speculation he will flee into exile abroad.

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will step down next Wednesday, the country's parliamentary speaker said on Saturday, after a day of violent protests in which demonstrators stormed the president's official residence and set fire to the prime minister's home in Colombo.

Thousands of protesters stormed the Sri Lankan president's official residence and set the prime minister's private residence on fire in Colombo on Saturday as anger intensified over the country's worst economic crisis in seven decades.