Bengaluru: India is not cutting its defence budget because the operational preparedness of its armed forces is paramount, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said on Wednesday.

“There is no cut in our budget either this fiscal (2012-13) or ensuing fiscal (2013-14) in priority areas and operational preparedness of our armed forces as there is no compromise on national security,” Antony told reporters at an aerospace event in Bengaluru.

Admitting that the nation was going through difficult days due to economic slowdown, which had affected other countries too, Antony said, “Some acquisitions due this fiscal [cycle] will be put off to next fiscal [cycle] as we have to tighten our belt to the extent possible for a better future. Budget cuts are not limited to our ministry but across ministries,” Antony clarified at a news conference after flagging off the ninth edition of the biennial Aero India 2013 trade event on the city outskirts.

Antony’s admission of cuts in non-priority and non-planned expenditure in the defence budget came in the wake of finance minister P. Chidambaram directing all ministries to rein in expenditure by about 10 per cent this fiscal so as to contain the fiscal deficit.

Antony also said that China’s role in operating a strategically important port in Pakistan is a matter of concern for India.

Management of Gwadar port, around 600km from Karachi and close to Pakistan’s border with Iran, was handed over to state-run Chinese Overseas Port Holdings last week after previously being managed by Singapore’s PSA International.

“It is a matter of concern to us,” Antony told reporters when asked about Chinese control of the port. When complete, the port, which is close to the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping lane, is seen opening up an energy and trade corridor from the Gulf, across Pakistan to western China, and could be used by the Chinese Navy, analysts say.

“It will enable [China] to deploy military capability in the region,” said Jay Ranade, of the Centre for Air Power Studies and a former additional secretary at the government of India. “Having control of Gwadar, China is basically getting an entry into the Arabian Sea and the Gulf.”

The country was bound to modernise its armed forces in response to China’s own modernisation, Indian Defence Minister Antony said, adding that strengthening its north-eastern border with China was not a confrontation with its neighbour.

“It is our duty. If they are doing it, we will also do it,” said Antony, adding that the presence of a Chinese delegation at the show was a “welcome step”, without elaborating.

A long-awaited deal for India to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation was being reviewed by a cost negotiation committee, Antony said, adding that the delay in finalising the deal was not due to budget cuts.

India selected the Rafale from several options and entered into exclusive talks with Dassault for the $15 billion contract more than a year ago.