BANGALORE (TIP): Pakistan’s decision to hand overthe strategic Gwadar port to China is a matter of“serious concern” for India, Defence Minister AKAntony said on February 7.“Chinese are now constructing that port on Pakistan’srequest. In one sentence, I can say that it is a matter ofconcern to us. My answer is simple andstraightforward,” he said at the Aero India pressconference here.

The minister was responding to amedia query if the handing over of Gwadar port inPakistan to China would make India’s western frontiersmore vulnerable.Gwadar port is located at the apex of the Arabian Seaand the mouth of the Persian Gulf.It is also only about 400 km away from the Strait ofHormuz, a key global oil supply route. The minister’sremarks in the backdrop of reports in Chinese officialmedia that the port development was not an attempt bythe Chinese side to “encircle” India.