<span style="color: #222222;">Sri Lankan  Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has rejected claims that Sri Lanka was allowing China to control strategic ports. He also said that he didn't believe the country was falling into a debt trap caused by high-interest Chinese loans. He was speaking to a news channel on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Hanoi. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mr Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka has been unaligned and has stayed that way since 1948. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">His comments came as Sri Lanka and China agreed to a 99-year lease of the southern Hambantota port last year. Nations including the US, Japan and India have stressed on the need for the port to be free of military activities.</span><br />