China's defense budget to rise 7-8%
Print Edition
CHINA will boost its defense spending by about 7 or 8 percent this year, compared with double-digit rises in the past, as it seeks to create a more efficient military.
Fu Ying, spokeswoman for the National People’s Congress (NPC), said the country has to consider its defense needs, economic development and fiscal position in drafting its defense budget.
“China’s military budget will continue to grow this year but the margin will be lower than last year,” Fu told a press conference.
The increase would put the budget at about 950 billion yuan (US$146 billion), up from last year’s 886.9 million yuan.
It would make the world’s second-largest economy the second-largest defense spender, after the United States on both counts.
Last month, US President Barack Obama proposed a US$534 billion defense budget package for the 2016 fiscal year, about 3.6 times China’s budget this year.
The exact figure for China will be revealed as part of the overall national spending plan to be presented at today’s opening of the NPC’s annual two-week session.
China’s defense budget rose by 10.1 percent last year. The last time the defense budget rose by a proportion similar to that suggested by Fu was 2010, when it increased by 7.5 percent.
This year’s planned increase reflects China’s national defense needs and fiscal revenue, she said.
China’s economy grew by 6.9 percent last year, its slowest for a quarter of a century, weighed down by a property market downturn, falling trade and weak factory activity.
Premier Li Keqiang is scheduled to unveil the government’s GDP target today. The figure is expected to be between 6.5 and 7 percent.
In an interview with Xinhua, Major General Chen Zhou touched on the surprise slowdown with China’s “economic and social status quo.”
“A single-digit rise following years of double-digit growth is a prudent, moderate move,” Chen, also an NPC deputy, said.
“We are not going for an arms race.”
When answering a question from a CBS correspondent about China’s construction of military facilities in the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, Fu said that currently most of the advanced aircraft and warships passing through the South China Sea belong to the US.
According to its strategy in Asia-Pacific, the US has decided to deploy a larger part of its naval force to the region. It is also strengthening military presence in the Asia-Pacific region with its allies, she said.
“Isn’t it militarization?” she asked in reply, adding that accusing China of militarization in the waters is a hegemonic act in language.
Chinese lawmakers do not agree with the US showing off its military power by sending warships to waters close to the South China Sea islands and reefs.
The US said it did not take sides in South China Sea disputes, but its acts and rhetoric make people feel that it is raising tensions in the region, Fu said.
China’s construction projects in the South China Sea are necessary for providing public services and strengthening China’s capacities for safeguarding regional peace.
Also, China does not recognize some countries’ illegal occupation of islands and reefs, and its policy of putting aside disputes and seeking joint development is based on its sovereignty over the islands.
As the islands and reefs are far from the mainland, they should have defense capacities, but those efforts should not be described as militarization, Fu said.
“If the United States is really concerned about regional stability and peace, it should support negotiations between China and neighboring countries,” she said.
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