China declares increase in military spending

China announced a double-digit increase in its secretive military budget on Friday but insisted that the annual outlay of more than $90 billion posed no external threat, despite concern worldwide.The defense budget will rise 12.7 percent in 2011 to 601.1 billion yuan ($91.7 billion), according to a spokesman of the national parliament and a former Foreign minister.The figure was contained in a budgetary report submitted for approval to the Communist Party-controlled National People’s Congress, which opens its annual 10-day session on Saturday.

China said the figure represented 6 percent of the total national budget in the world’s second-largest economy.But the number represents a return to double-digit increases in military spending, which have alarmed the United States, Australia and several of China’s Asian neighbors.That multiyear trend had been broken in 2010 when the budget rose 7.5 percent. In any case, many analysts say that the announced budget is far lower than the actual spending.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—the world’s largest—is hugely secretive about its defense programs, but insists that its modernization is purely defensive in nature to protect China’s vast land and sea borders.

A China analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that the published military budget—which he said was likely only one-third to one-half of actual spending—will be poured into next-generation equipment.The return to this double-digit PLA budget reflects the growing power of the PLA. They are trying to close the gap with Russia and the United States.The build-up is also widely seen as geared in large part at reclaiming Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949 after a civil war. Taiwanese experts say that China has more than 1,600 missiles aimed at the self-ruled island.

International Assessment and Strategy Center in the United States said the increases also reflect jitters in the Communist Party leadership over its hold on power.
China already sees tens of thousands of protests each year and mounting public concern over high inflation and a myriad of other issues makes it vital for the Communist Party to secure firm PLA political support. China wants to project strength with this return to double-digit military spending, but in reality it reflects serious regime weakness