China to boost military spending by 17.8 per cent
Updated Sun. Mar. 4 2007 7:59 AM ET
Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...china_spending_070304/20070304?hub=TopStories
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 has stirred unease in Washington and some of China's neighbors.
Underscoring such concerns, Jiang Enzhu also lashed out at the president of Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by China, accusing him of manipulating Taiwan's political divisions to steer it toward formal independence, something Beijing has vowed to prevent using military force if necessary.
"If you want to bring about secession, you will not enjoy popular support. If you want to push for independence for Taiwan, you will not have success at the end of the day," 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 defense 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 defense spending every year since the early 1990s.
China's 2.3 million-strong military is the world's largest but has been criticized abroad for its lack of transparency. The Pentagon believes China's total military spending may be much greater since the announced budget doesn't include weapons purchases and other key items.
Jiang Enzhu, right, spokesman for the National People's Congress, speaks during a press conference on the eve of the annual meeting of China's legislature in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 4, 2007.(AP / Ng Han Guan)
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 defense 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.
China's defense spending is largely oriented toward possible conflicts over Taiwan, which split with the mainland in 1949 amid civil war and has refused Beijing's offers for peaceful reunification with the mainland.
Jiang said moves toward independence "will pose grim challenges for cross-strait relations," and said Taiwanese voters would abandon President Chen Shui-bian, whose steadfastly pro-independence stance has earned him the scorn of Beijing.
"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.
Along with approving the budget, the legislature's nearly 3,000 delegates are expected to vote on a toughly contested bill on property rights and an uncontroversial corporate tax bill. The two measures are all but certain to pass, legal scholars and Chinese political watchers say.
The property law has been drafted and redrafted over eight years in an attempt to balance the need for clear ownership rights and protections conservative communists' fears over unbridled privatization of state assets.
Chinese soldiers patrol Tiananmen square outside of the Great hall of the People on the eve of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China, March 4, 2007. (AP / Elizabeth Dalziel)
"Consensus is already being built ... and the draft text is quite satisfactory," Jiang said.
Jiang said that former Shanghai party chief Chen Liangyu, who was removed last September amid a pension fund scandal in China's financial capital, would not be attending the session.
Updated Sun. Mar. 4 2007 7:59 AM ET
Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...china_spending_070304/20070304?hub=TopStories
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 has stirred unease in Washington and some of China's neighbors.
Underscoring such concerns, Jiang Enzhu also lashed out at the president of Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by China, accusing him of manipulating Taiwan's political divisions to steer it toward formal independence, something Beijing has vowed to prevent using military force if necessary.
"If you want to bring about secession, you will not enjoy popular support. If you want to push for independence for Taiwan, you will not have success at the end of the day," 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 defense 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 defense spending every year since the early 1990s.
China's 2.3 million-strong military is the world's largest but has been criticized abroad for its lack of transparency. The Pentagon believes China's total military spending may be much greater since the announced budget doesn't include weapons purchases and other key items.
Jiang Enzhu, right, spokesman for the National People's Congress, speaks during a press conference on the eve of the annual meeting of China's legislature in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 4, 2007.(AP / Ng Han Guan)
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 defense 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.
China's defense spending is largely oriented toward possible conflicts over Taiwan, which split with the mainland in 1949 amid civil war and has refused Beijing's offers for peaceful reunification with the mainland.
Jiang said moves toward independence "will pose grim challenges for cross-strait relations," and said Taiwanese voters would abandon President Chen Shui-bian, whose steadfastly pro-independence stance has earned him the scorn of Beijing.
"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.
Along with approving the budget, the legislature's nearly 3,000 delegates are expected to vote on a toughly contested bill on property rights and an uncontroversial corporate tax bill. The two measures are all but certain to pass, legal scholars and Chinese political watchers say.
The property law has been drafted and redrafted over eight years in an attempt to balance the need for clear ownership rights and protections conservative communists' fears over unbridled privatization of state assets.
Chinese soldiers patrol Tiananmen square outside of the Great hall of the People on the eve of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China, March 4, 2007. (AP / Elizabeth Dalziel)
"Consensus is already being built ... and the draft text is quite satisfactory," Jiang said.
Jiang said that former Shanghai party chief Chen Liangyu, who was removed last September amid a pension fund scandal in China's financial capital, would not be attending the session.
