Puts in place plans to modernise its Army against the backdrop of an uncertain regional environment.
China has announced it will increase defence spending by 11.2 per cent in 2012, for the first time taking its annual military expenditure beyond $100 billion as it puts in place plans to modernise its Army against the backdrop of an uncertain regional environment.
The planned defence budget was announced in Beijing on Sunday as 670.274 billion yuan ($106.39 billion), an increase of 67.604 billion yuan over the expenditure in 2011 and an 11.2 per cent year-on-year rise. The proposed budget is expected to be approved this week when the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislative body, begins its annual session on Monday.
Li Zhaoxing, spokesperson for the NPC, told reporters the rise in military spending was in keeping with the growth in the GDP and fiscal expenditure. He pointed out that the spending as a share of GDP was only 1.28 per cent, lower than many countries including the U.S. and the U.K. “where it exceeds 2 per cent”.
It however remains unclear how China's neighbours will perceive the double-digit percentage rise, with several countries, from Japan to those involved in disputes over the South China Sea, having expressed concerns in recent months over the rise in military spending.
The defence budget grew by 12.7 per cent last year to $91 billion, though spending grew by a lower than expected 7.5 per cent in 2010, the first time in two decades that the increase was a single-digit figure on account of the global financial crisis.
China's spending in 2012 will exceed what India spent last year by three times — India's defence expenditure was reported at $36 billion in the 2011-12 budget.
While Indian defence officials have expressed concern over the widening gap between both military spending and infrastructure in border regions, Mr. Li of the NPC stressed on Sunday that China's military “will not in the least pose a threat to other countries” and followed a policy that was “purely defensive” in nature. China's military spending mainly comprised the living expenditures of service people, expenses for training and spending on equipment, he added.
But many analysts say China does not include in its budget a range of costs that contribute to its military modernisation, as well as a number of dual use technologies and military research and development programmes that are accounted for under civilian budgets, such as the space programme.
“Since the Chinese budget does not include modernisation, dual-use technologies, R&D aspects and export-import numbers, the figure that we saw on Sunday is not the ultimate truth,” said Srikanth Kondapalli, an expert on the Chinese military at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
“Western estimates say the actual figure should be at least double, although Indian estimates place the budget at $150 billion rather than the Pentagon's $220 billion figure.”
He added that all militaries, from the U.S. to Asian countries, “obfuscate a little”, but in China's case there were particular accounting problems, in part because Beijing only adopted more accurate zero-based budgeting, rather than merely listing incremental estimates, in the past decade.
Analysts say the main focus of China's military spending is directed towards deployments in the South China Sea, where disputes have surfaced with many of China's neighbours and Beijing wary over increasing U.S. activity in the Asia-Pacific, and also towards Taiwan, which has historically been the People's Liberation Army's focus but has begun to recede as a priority with the recent warming in Cross-Strait relations.
Keywords: China defence budget, National People's Congress
India is hopelessly outgunned by China. It neither has the resources nor the determination to stand up to China. Vietnam was able to repulse Chinese invasion because they were determined as a nation. India is too soft, there is a possibility of a repetition of 1962 in Arunachal Pradesh or China called South Tibet, China may decide to go for a limited and swift beating and capture in Arunachal border to humiliate India and put India in its place, in the process establish itself as the unquestioned Asian superpower.
Even U.S can attack china without aircraft carrier. They have stealth aircrafts and vessels. They can attack china in different ways.
The point is till china is a threat to its neighbors , its neighbors are with usa .
If china attack India it is plus point for USA and other its neighbors.
India and Indians will be in loss.
India and Indians have to gear up carefully with good stealth technology.
MMRCA is a big + for India as of now even though it cost more. French were no 1 in aircraft industries in 1950. Now they have good supply of avionics to many nations even Mig 35, F-15 , su - 30 Eurofighter use some french avionics.
We need some more import and home products .
I hope India does not follow China in this spending. We need to look carefully and invest wisely. Like china stressed on missile system and its accuracy to counter US Navy (aircraft carrier), a cheap means to tacle an expensive problem, we need to do something same with China. But taking on their massive Army is a tough problem.
This is a challenge to India.. As a second super power in Asia, India will be facing immense hostility from China in the coming years. This is the reminder of cold war days between US and USSR which was won by Reagon led US as they milked USSR dry by escalating cold war and USSR tried to match it at the cost of other economic needs of the country. Eventually it led to the breaking of USSR into various states. There is no way India can match china in spending but adequate budgting needs to be done to shore up the existing spending. China is economically strangling India by drying up brahmaputra river thereby drying up north east which they have been eyeing for long. It is mistake on the part of India to ignore the needs of Arunachal pradesh and other north east parts of India where people use chinese currency, which shows the lack of committment by the rulers from centre.We need to have better policy to guard our borders with hostile nations.
India has learned nothing from its 1962 defeat in the hands of the Chinese and I am sure the same will happen again thanks to the Babu’s who run India. They are too old and to slow to react and defuse a situation before it starts. Now it’s too late for India to match the Chinese growing military strength.Indian economy is too behind and slow thus India does not have that kind of money to match Chinese might.
Dont forget As china grows and advances it will share all those technologies with Pakistan.
its not the figures that matters...its the men in uniform that matters more.The level of motivation and support that our troops have can never be calculated using these figures...History has proved it, history has exposed us to many such scenarios where ONE man made the difference.
The encirclement theory is once again proving in the case of India that means China is making all options to prove that it as a global power rather than any mere regional power. Many of the strategic analyst and policy makers are still not convinced about china's comprehensive strategy that will envisaging for intrusion of Chinese power in the South Asian region including the Indian ocean. So, its high time for Indian strategic enclaves to make sensible policy decisions for keeping the long term interest of India's strategic interest in South Asia.
Defence spending hike by China shouldn't be much point of concern for India as both countries have different geographical settings - different issues with neighbours. For India, Pakistan based military camp posses threat while Pakistan as a nation won't be that big challenge. War with China is not at all an immediate concern. China has issues with Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, US etc besides border issues with India. Also China has ambitions of playing big brother role in Asia atleast - thus helping friendly, neutral neighbours in military or development works. Our focus should be military preparedness with modernisation of weapons at right pace & to the extent our budget can support. We have a lot of welfare task pending before going all out for such a huge budgetary spending on defence.
When that fateful day arrives, China will go through India like a hot knife through butter. When the generals are more concerned with fiddling with birth certificates and meddling with housing and real estate deals, and politicians far more interested in Swiss banks and vote banks, there is little hope for the country to withstand an external attack.
it is definitely a matter of concern whether their officials called it as defensive in nature but who knows in coming years with advanced military china can stand monopoly at neighbouring countries.
China's increasing defense budget is definitely posing a threat to India as well as to its other neighbors.We are saying that India possess enough strength to defend china but India looks nowhere when it comes to the figure.It must be concerned seriously not only by them who are sitting in the parliament but also to the common people that we are living in a nation whose neighbor is investing three times more on its army.Thus,China is saying that it is purely defensive but can it be taken as a full assurance from a country like china which is not fully democratic in its own working where the people are suppressed if they say anything against its government.
Another aspect that comes that China is also working on making Nepal
on its own side.China's three gorges investing $1.6 billion in nepal's
hydropower project is the recent example.
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