China plans to boost its defense spending
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AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 05, 2009 00:00
BEIJING - China announced plans yesterday to boost spending on its increasingly potent military 14.9 percent this year, maintaining nearly two decades of annual double-digit defense hikes that have stirred concern in Washington and among Beijing's neighbors.
In announcing the spending increase, a spokesman for the national legislature, Li Zhaoxing, played down worries about China's military might, saying the boost was "modest" and suitable for world's third largest economy. Much of the additional funding would go toward boosting salaries and benefits for servicemen, he said.
China's defense spending is on par with the budgets of Japan, Russia and Britain, but is still dwarfed by U.S. military expenditures, which are nearly 10 times as large. International military experts said Chine's defense budget might be much higher than Beijing said because spending on military hardware and other items are not included.
The greater military spending is part of a robust national budget that will be unveiled Thursday at the opening of the legislature's annual session and features a hefty stimulus plan to reinvigorate the flagging economy and ward off the global economic downturn. A government adviser said the plan will try to promote consumer spending and sets a goal of 8 percent growth - the same target China has put in budget plans for many years but that it may have difficulty reaching as demand for exports evaporate in the U.S. and Europe.
Tensions with Taiwan
The defense spending increase, while still hefty, represents a deceleration from recent years, as the government tries to direct spending elsewhere and tensions with rival Taiwan decrease. "The global economic crisis effected China as well as other countries. I think this year most countries will cut their military budgets," said Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based international affairs specialist.
The 480.68 billion yuan ($70.27 billion) military budget, follows a 17.6 percent increase last year and 17.8 percent in 2007 - the biggest jump in more than a decade. It also marks the 19th double-digit percentage increase in the past two decades. Li, the congress spokesman, said the latest figure equals 6.3 percent of the overall budget for 2009, down slightly from last year. The growth of the armed power has prompted widespread speculation over possible conflicts over Taiwan as well as over contested island chains in the South China Sea.
China's defense spending is on par with the budgets of Japan, Russia and Britain, but is still dwarfed by U.S. military expenditures, which are nearly 10 times as large. International military experts said Chine's defense budget might be much higher than Beijing said because spending on military hardware and other items are not included.
The greater military spending is part of a robust national budget that will be unveiled Thursday at the opening of the legislature's annual session and features a hefty stimulus plan to reinvigorate the flagging economy and ward off the global economic downturn. A government adviser said the plan will try to promote consumer spending and sets a goal of 8 percent growth - the same target China has put in budget plans for many years but that it may have difficulty reaching as demand for exports evaporate in the U.S. and Europe.
Tensions with Taiwan
The defense spending increase, while still hefty, represents a deceleration from recent years, as the government tries to direct spending elsewhere and tensions with rival Taiwan decrease. "The global economic crisis effected China as well as other countries. I think this year most countries will cut their military budgets," said Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based international affairs specialist.
The 480.68 billion yuan ($70.27 billion) military budget, follows a 17.6 percent increase last year and 17.8 percent in 2007 - the biggest jump in more than a decade. It also marks the 19th double-digit percentage increase in the past two decades. Li, the congress spokesman, said the latest figure equals 6.3 percent of the overall budget for 2009, down slightly from last year. The growth of the armed power has prompted widespread speculation over possible conflicts over Taiwan as well as over contested island chains in the South China Sea.