By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
BEIJING – China announced plans Wednesday to boost military spending by 14.9 percent this year, maintaining a longtime trend of annual double-digit percentage increases that have stirred concern in Washington and among Beijing's neighbors.
National People's Congress spokesman Li Zhaoxing said the increase was "modest" and that much of the additional funding would go toward boosting salaries and benefits for servicemen.
"China has always paid attention to controlling the size of defense expenditure and set the defense expenditure at a level that ensures the coordinated development of national defense and our economy," Li said.
China's defense spending is on par with Japan, Russia and Britain, but is still dwarfed by U.S. military expenditures, which are nearly 10 times as large. International military experts say Chine's defense budget may be much higher than Beijing says because spending on military hardware and other items are not included.
The increase to 480.68 billion yuan ($70.27 billion), 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 said the latest figure equals 6.3 percent of the overall budget for 2009, down slightly from last year.
He said the increase would not pose a threat to any country, and that much of it would go to salaries and benefits for China's 2.3 million-strong military force, the world's largest.
"The limited military force is for safeguarding the state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will not pose any threat to any other country," Li said.
Despite such assurances, the U.S., Japan and others have questioned the reasons behind Beijing's rapid buildup. The growth of Chinese military power has prompted widespread speculation over possible future conflicts over Taiwan, the self-governing island Beijing has vowed to reunite with — by force if necessary — as well as over contested island chains in the South China Sea and crucial sea lanes in the Indian Ocean.
U.S. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said last month that China's military spending increases "pose a greater threat to Taiwan." Relations between rival China and Taiwan have warmed recently, but Beijing still threatens to use military force to oppose any move by Taiwan to declare formal independence.
Chinese defense analysts said this year's lower percentage increase in spending may reflect both the calming tensions with Taiwan and the tapering off of some of the most ambitious military development programs.
Teng Jianqun, a retired People's Liberation Army colonel who now serves as deputy secretary general of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, said that the growth rate for military spending should go down, but that "the double-digit rate will remain for at least a few years in future."
Shanghai-based analyst Ni Lexiong said the smaller increase might also speak to tighter budgets resulting from the world financial meltdown.
"The global economic crisis effected China as well as other countries. I think this year most countries will cut their military budgets," Ni said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment