(Beijing) — China will boost military spending by 17.8 percent this year, a spokesman for the national legislature said Sunday, continuing more than a decade of double-digit annual increases that have raised concerns among the United States and China's neighbors.
John Negroponte, the U.S. deputy secretary of state, urged China to be more open about its military buildup.
"We think it's important in our dialogue that we understand what China's plans and intentions are," said Negroponte, who was visiting Beijing on Sunday.
Underscoring the concerns about China's military, the legislature's spokesman, Jiang Enzhu, also accused the president of Taiwan of manipulating political divisions there to steer it toward formal independence. China's military spending is largely oriented toward possible conflicts over Taiwan, which split with the mainland in 1949 and has refused Beijing's offers for peaceful reunification.
Jiang said Taiwanese voters would abandon President Chen Shui-bian, whose pro-independence stance has drawn criticism from China.
"His manipulation of political issues, his attempt to exaggerate or exacerbate tensions among different communities on the island and his selfish agenda ... have been condemned by various political groups and parties as well as the general public in Taiwan," Jiang said at a news conference at the Great Hall of the People, where the legislature, formally known as the National People's Congress, will begin its 12- day session on Monday.
However, Jiang said the $44.94 billion military budget would mainly be spent on boosting wages and living allowances for members of the armed forces and on upgrading armaments "to enhance the military's ability to conduct defensive operations."
"China is committed to taking the path of peaceful development and it pursues a defensive military posture," Jiang said. "China has neither the wherewithal or the intention to enter into an arms race with any country and China does not and will not pose a threat to any country."
The 2007 budget marks an increase of $6.84 billion over last year. With its economy booming, China has announced double-digit annual increases in military spending every year since the early 1990s.
China's 2.3 million-strong military is the world's largest. The Pentagon believes China's total military spending may be much greater since the announced budget does not include weapons purchases and other key items.
Jiang defended spending as "quite modest" compared to what is spent by Britain, France, Japan, and the United States, where President Bush signed a bill authorizing $532.8 billion in military spending for the 2007 fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
"This increase is compensatory in nature in order to make up for the weak national defense foundation of our country," Jiang said.
In the past, Beijing has spent heavily on adding submarines, jet fighters and other high-tech weapons to its arsenal, which despite its size, lags well behind those of other major nations. |
