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China says defense spending rise slows
to 7.5 percent
MODERNIZATION: Beijing set its defense budget at US$78
billion, compared with US$708 billion for the US. Analysts were surprised by the
relative drop, but skeptical
REUTERS, BEIJING
Friday, Mar 05, 2010, Page 1
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China kept the rise in its military budget to 7.5 percent
this year, a spokesman said yesterday, a slowdown that left observers skeptical
after an increase in tensions with the US.
Some foreign analysts were surprised by the figure after more than two decades
of nearly unbroken double-digit rises in China¡¦s defense budget, and said the
announced numbers were unlikely to show the growing power¡¦s real military
spending.
¡§All the evidence suggests that they are on a very powerful trajectory of
expansion in substantive terms, and they seem to use this figure for political
purposes almost, to send signals,¡¨ said Ron Huisken, a China defense expert at
the Australian National University in Canberra.
The announcement came after quarrels with the US over human rights, Internet
censorship, Tibet and Washington¡¦s arms sales to Taiwan.
Chinese parliamentary spokesman and former foreign minister Li Zhaoxing (§õ»F¬P)
said the increase would bring the country¡¦s defense budget for the year to 532.1
billion yuan (US$77.95 billion), or 37.1 billion yuan more than what was
actually spent on defense last year.
The budget for the People¡¦s Liberation Army (PLA) showed Beijing was not seeking
confrontation, Li told a news conference a day ahead of the opening of the
National People¡¦s Congress.
China has 2.3 million personnel in its armed forces, more than any other nation.
The government has sought to slim numbers and lift troop quality by offering
better benefits.
¡§I think the [Chinese] armed forces will be dissatisfied,¡¨ said Ikuo Kayahara, a
retired Japanese major-general who teaches security studies at Takushoku
University.
¡§The world has been criticizing China for increasing its defense budget by more
than 10 percent every year,¡¨ he said. ¡§China may be reacting to this by trying
to show that it is not focused only on expanding its armed forces.¡¨
Xu Guangyu (®}¥ú¦t), a researcher for the China Arms Control and Disarmament
Association and retired PLA major general, said he would have been happier with
a higher number to fund faster equipment improvements.
¡§This number comes after we¡¦ve had increases that have basically overcome the
problems we faced with poor conditions and wages for military personnel,¡¨ he
said. ¡§But we do need to keep up a certain rate of growth to reach a necessary
level of military modernization. An increase of, say, 10 percent would have been
more appropriate.¡¨
Last year, the government set the official military budget at 480.7 billion yuan,
a 14.9 percent rise on the one in 2008.
Li indicated actual defense spending last year reached 495 billion yuan,
apparently reflecting the fact that government revenues grew more than the
budget projected.
In Taipei, Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang (·¨©À¯ª) said his
government and the region were wary.
¡§They¡¦re putting a lot of resources into modernization, including advanced
weapons systems,¡¨ Yang said. ¡§That kind of improvement certainly raises the
eyebrows of surrounding countries in Asia, and especially the US.¡¨
US President Barack Obama has proposed a record US$708 billion in defence
spending for the next fiscal year.
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