China to increase military spending in 2005

From http://www.defensenews.com

China To Increase Military Spending in 2005

By ROBERT J. SAIGET, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING

China is expected to increase its military expenditure by 12.6 percent this year, while boosting its capability of using force to reunify rival Taiwan, sources said March 3.

The rise in spending comes with Washington voicing concern that China’s military build-up could tilt the strategic balance with Taiwan and also threaten U.S. forces in Asia.

In his budget report to the upcoming annual session of the National People’s Congress, Finance Minister Jin Renqing is expected to propose raising military spending in 2005 to 244.65 billion yuan ($29.5 billion), sources said.

China’s stated military budget has increased by double digits over most of the last 15 years, with defense spending rising by more than 17 percent in 2001 and 2002. It fell to a 9.6 percent clip in 2003 before rising again to 11.6 percent last year.

According to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, China’s publicized military budget is “less than half of China’s actual defense spending.”

Other military analysts say China’s actual defense spending could be up to three times more than its stated figure as Beijing does not include new arms purchases and weapons’ research and development in the figures.

By comparison, the U.S. defense budget is about $400 billion this year.

The rise in spending comes as the European Union considers the lifting of an arms embargo on China put in place following the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen democracy protests in central Beijing.

The United States adamantly opposes the ban being lifted.

In a white paper on defense published in December, China said its ongoing military modernization was aimed at squashing “Taiwan independence forces” and made clear any attempt at independence would be dealt with harshly.

“Should the Taiwan authorities go so far as to make a reckless attempt that constitutes a major incident of Taiwan independence, the Chinese people and armed forces will resolutely and thoroughly crush it at any cost,” the policy paper said.

The document said it was the “sacred responsibility” of the Chinese armed forces to stop Taiwan independence forces from splitting the country.

China already has 600 missiles pointed at the island, from which it split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.

Such rhetoric has worried both Washington and Taiwan, with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in January voicing concerns over China’s growing naval capabilities.

Meanwhile, CIA chief Porter Goss last month warned of China’s missile buildup on its coast facing Taiwan.

“Beijing’s military modernization and military buildup could tilt the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait,” said Goss.

“Improved Chinese capabilities threaten U.S. forces in the region,” he told a congressional committee assessing the main security threats to the United States.

Goss said China was stepping up efforts to “develop robust, survivable nuclear armed missiles as well as conventional capability for use in regional conflicts”.

According to Taiwan’s 2004 National Defense Report, the military balance across the Taiwan Straits would shift in Beijing’s favor within the next four years if Taipei does not respond to China’s defense modernization.

Taiwan’s defense spending rose slightly to 264.1 billion Taiwan dollars ($8.15 billion) in 2004 from 252.3 billion 10 years ago.

The U.S. is required by its 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to help maintain the island’s defense against any eventual attack from China.