Defense expenditure should be managed efficiently to ensure that
every penny is used where it is needed most for the modernization
of national defense, legislators from the army have said.
Defense expenditure has kept increasing in the past years,
giving a strong support to the army's modernization drive, but the
funds should be economized to in the building of troops, said Zheng
Shouzeng, vice commander of the Lanzhou Military Area Command.
"Our army has been developed with arduous work and thrifty
tradition which should never be discarded," said Zheng, also a
deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), the top
legislature.
"China is not yet affluent. Even if it grows to be rich someday,
we shall still stick to the diligent and economical work style," he
said, adding that military building should serve the country's
overall economic and social development.
Wang Guosheng, another NPC deputy, pointed out that army
building should follow a road seeking high returns with efficient
input, as it will consume huge amounts of resources to transform a
mechanized army into a modernized one based on information
technology.
According to international estimates, such a transformation will
cost US$20,000 per serviceman every year on the average, a level
which China has not caught up with. In the United States, per
capita military spending has exceeded US$200,000.
"It requires us to build frugal troops, which should be
reflected in every detail about our food, housing, transport, daily
expenses and even dress," said Li Guanglu, an NPC deputy from the
border-guard forces in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Li's regiment started a campaign last year to economize on
water, electricity, grain, oil, paper and money. The campaign also
banned smoking, drinking, eating snacks, borrowing money and buying
high-end daily commodities.
A report from the General Logistics Department of the People's
Liberation Army (PLA) showed that the whole army saved 40 million
tons of water, 170 million kwh of electricity, 7,500 tons of grain,
1.16 million tons of coal and 1.4 billion yuan of procurement
expenses last year.
Tu Yaqing, an NPC deputy with the logistics engineering
institute of the PLA, pointed out that the army used to be
overburdened with all kinds of services for armymen's children and
families, including their education, employment, housing and
medical insurance.
Now, with the reform of logistics sector further deepened, the
proportion of military spending used for subsidiary services has
gradually been cut down and efficiency has improved steadily, Tu
said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2007)