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CHINA PLANS TO BOOST 2009 MILITARY SPENDING BY 14.9%

Dune Lawrence

Bloomberg, March 4, 2009

China said it will boost defense spending by 14.9 percent this year to raise salaries of the world’s largest standing army as it competes for regional influence with the U.S. and Japan.

China’s military spending will rise to 480.6 billion yuan ($70.3 billion), from a revised 418.2 billion yuan last year, Chinese legislature spokesman Li Zhaoxing said today at a press conference ahead of the body’s annual session tomorrow. The amount compares with $513.3 billion approved by the U.S. Congress for fiscal 2009 not including war spending.

The Communist Party’s move to strengthen naval and space capabilities has sparked criticism from the U.S., which contends that the Asian nation is underreporting its spending. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, David Sedney, suggested on Feb. 28 that China is acquiring more military capabilities than justified by its stated strategic goals.

The U.S. told China in military talks last week that it wants “clarity” on the connection between its developing military capacity and strategic objectives, Sedney said.

Defense spending in China has increased an average of 16.2 percent from 1999 to 2008, according to figures from the latest defense white paper published in January. The biggest increase was 20.4 percent in 2006.

“China’s defense spending is relatively low in the world,” Li said. “China’s limited military power will be used solely to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

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