China unaware of Gwadar naval base proposal

China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said it was unaware of a request by Pakistan to Beijing for help in building a naval base at its deep-sea port of Gwadar, strategically located on the Arabian Sea. Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, who accompanied Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on a visit to China last week, said the proposal had been made during the trip, which highlighted the neighbours’ close ties.
“I haven’t heard of this project. As far as I know this subject was not brought up during the visit last week” by Gilani, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters. China provided about 75 percent of the initial $250 million in funding for the construction of Gwadar port.
It is currently operated by Singapore’s PSA International. Mukhtar said China had agreed to take over port operations, without offering a timetable, adding Islamabad would be “more grateful to the Chinese government if a naval base was being constructed at the site of Gwadar for Pakistan.”