China’s Double-digit Military Spending Increases Clarified

AT the annual session of the Na- tional Peoples Congress (NPC), Chinas top legislative meeting held in March, it was agreed that the defense budget in 2012 would be increased by 11.2 percent. With the growth rate remaining in double digits for the second consecutive year, this decision has attracted much international comment. Some people in the media believe that this could lead to an arms race in Asia, as nearby countries see China as an increasing military threat.

A Relatively small Fish

Chinese scholars maintain that as the three decades since reform and openingup have seen the nations power constantly increasing, it is only natural for China to increase its military spending. According to Yin Zhuo, director of the Advisory Committee for Navy Informatization, however, during the 20 years from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, Chinas military spending declined and represented a low percentage of Chinas GDP. In some years it was even less than one percent.

Although this is no longer the case, the relative increase in military expenditure is slower than that of GDP and overall government spending. In 2008, GDP and government expenditure grew by 14.5 percent and 20.3 percent respectively, but growth of expenditure on national defense was a mere 13 percent. That year it took up just 1.33 percent and 6.68 percent of GDP and government expenditure. By 2011 these figures had fallen to 1.28 percent and 5.53 percent.

Furthermore, Chinas military expenditure remains relatively small compared to that of many countries. At US $725 billion in 2011, U.S. military spending dwarfed Chinas modest US $92 billion. In 2011 per capita military expenditure in the U.S. was a whopping 34 times that in China.

Furthermore, most European countries affected by the global economic crisis maintain military budgets of more than 2.5 percent of GDP. This includes the UK, which has consistently spent between 2.5 and 3 percent on its military.

China can also be considered a relatively small fish in terms of military spending compared to some of its neighbors. The nations defense budget remains proportionately much lower than Japans, when GDP and population are taken into account.

A Modern necessity

Ye Hailin, an expert on international affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has analyzed the issue in the light of Chinas relations with neighboring countries and Chinas desire to live in a peaceful region.

“Chinas national defense requires greater expenditure than many other countries,” in Yes view. “In the U.S., its two oceans and two neighbors, Canada and Mexico, do not constitute any threat, so military spending can be devoted exclusively to conflicts outside its borders.”China, however, is still involved in territorial disputes and issues concerning the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland. China cannot safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity without strong national defense.

Chinas external security situation is currently rather complicated and faces numerous challenges. Since the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact led by the USSR, the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been expanding eastwards, making its intention to contain Chinas development. At the same time, a number of countries have moved to strengthen their alliances and deploy their military in Chinas backyard. Others have intervened in territorial and maritime disputes between China and some of its surrounding countries, thus complicating the situation. There are also international forces assisting separatists commit acts of terrorism and threaten Chinas peace and stability.

Furthermore, in the last decade superpowers have used their superior military technology to threaten and wage war on other countries. It has become plain that international law cannot ensure the sovereignty of a state. Events last year in Libya, for example, showed how easy it is for NATO to violate a UN resolution and carry out military intervention. Without a strong army, it is difficult for a country to guarantee its political independence. Were China not to increase military spending it would be putting itself in a vulnerable position.

Moreover, as the country develops its relationship with the world, China faces increasing problems relating to the safety of its citizens and trade interests overseas. In 2011 Chinas foreign trade exceeded US $3.6 trillion, and with that comes required increases in the protection of maritime transport. China has had to send warships to the Indian Ocean to protect commercial cargo from Somali pirate attacks. Furthermore, major international incidents call for the use of military resources, such as during the uprising in Libya last year, when China had to evacuate tens of thousands of Chinese workers.

Inadequate Military Budget

Its focus on economic development, Chinas military spending declined during the 1980s. As a result, Chinas military and weaponry lag some 20 or 30 years behind countries with advanced militaries. Of the UN Security Councils five permanent member countries, China alone does not own a fleet of aircraft carriers.

Though Chinas military budget currently amounts to an impressive US $100 billion, whose use includes supporting an army of two million soldiers, per capita spending is in fact comparable to that of a medium-sized European country. With expenditure just reaching these levels, Chinese troops have a long way to go to reach informatization and mechanization.

Chinas previously low level of spending on armies no longer meets the needs of its servicemen. Kong Ying, Lieutenant General of the Peoples Liberation Army, said the increased military funds will be first used to raise the living standards of personnel, particularly in border areas, and to support the manufacture of equipment to increase combat effectiveness.

transparency

China implements a policy of transparency when it comes to its military spending, not only in terms of quantity, but in its specific uses and who controls it. Some foreign defense experts, how- ever, are suspicious of this transparency, believing that the increase rate is actually higher than 50 percent rather than barely in double digits.

Li Zhaoxing, an NPC spokesman, said that the Chinese government, in accordance with its National Defense and Budget laws, implements detailed financial allocations of military spending. Every year, spending on national defense is included in the draft state budget, and is subject to review and approval of the NPC. These expenses are primarily intended to fund support, training and equipment, and also finance military weaponry.

According to Wang Xinjun, a researcher at the Center for Policy Studies on National Defense at Chinas Academy of Military Sciences, national defense spending in China is allocated according to demand and development, meaning that this years increase is fully justified and legitimate. Chinese netizens feel that certain foreign institutes and experts are ignoring both the peaceful development of China throughout its 5,000 years of history and its current complicated security situation. By making a big fuss about Chinas military spending, these international voices are creating a distorted vision of Chinas military modernization and fabricating excuses to increase their own arms expenditure.