China won't challenge US

[Ah Hai]

BEIJING - CHINA'S growing military has no intention of challenging the United States, a senior People's Liberation Army officer said, before the likely unveiling of the country's annual defence budget on Thursday.

PLA Senior Colonel Luo Yan was responding to a new book by a fellow PLA officer, who argues China should aim to displace the United States militarily, the official China Daily reported.

At a news conference on Thursday ahead of the convening of the annual session of China's national parliament on Friday, a parliament spokesman is likely to follow past practice and announce the country's defence budget for the year.

Some PLA officers, including Col Luo, have called for a rise in military spending that will send a defiant signal to the United States after Washington went ahead with plans to sell $6.4 billion of arms to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing says is its territory. Col Luo indicated China's military spending was focused on protecting its claims to the island, but not spoiling for a confrontation with the United States, which remains much more powerful economically and militarily.

'We need to think much more on how to preserve national integrity. We have no intention of challenging the US,' said Col Luo, according to the China Daily. Col Luo is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body that gathers every year with the Communist Party-controlled parliament.

Col Luo's remarks and others by PLA officers underscored China's tricky balance in its recent friction with the United States: wanting to push back against Washington over the arms sales to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's recent meeting with the Dalai Lama, but also wanting to avoid actions that could stoke the tensions into broader confrontation. -- REUTERS

 

[Ah Hai]

China's defence budget up 7.5%

BEIJING - CHINA on Thursday announced its smallest defence budget increase in several years and sought to soothe foreign concerns that its rapid military modernisation posed a threat to other countries.

The proposed military budget for 2010 rose to 532.1 billion yuan (S$109 billion), up 7.5 per cent from actual defence spending in 2009, a government spokesman said.

The figure breaks a string of double-digit increases that had raised concerns overseas about China's military intentions.

'China is committed to peace,' said Mr Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the National People's Congress (NPC), as he unveiled the figure. 'The sole purpose of China's military strength is to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity,' he told a news conference.

The figure was contained in a budgetary report submitted to the congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament, Mr Li said. The annual NPC session opens on Friday.

The bulk of the spending increase will go toward improving conditions for China's 2.3 million servicemen and women and for military modernisation, he said. -- AFP

 

[Zombie]

三十六计
瞒天过海 ?

 

[DASHUANGXI]

we will be no.1 in the world, we are still developing, let the US win 1st, its a matter of time before we surpass them

 

[longbow]

Remember, US$1 spent on US military vs US$ 1 on PLA very different. US$1 goes a much longer way in China.

 

[kensington]

Remember, US$1 spent on US military vs US$ 1 on PLA very different. US$1 goes a much longer way in China.

Paychecks for the armed forces of USA is included in their budget whilst China has been consistently under declared their defence budget.

A US$ 1 might just have a value of 0.25 RMB by the Chinese's calculation.