According to the 2008 central and local government budget report presented at the ongoing 11th National People's Congress for deliberation, China's defense spending this year is set at 417.769 billion yuan ($58.84 billion), up 17.6 percent from last year.
Like in the past few years, the publication of China's defense budget again triggered some voices of suspicion abroad: Does China need to increase defense spending, and for what purpose?
Every country increases defense spending according to its national strength and in response to defense development needs. Why should not China? We need to tell the whole world that China's growing defense spending should brook no objection and here is why.
First, the Chinese military is in an unprecedented period of restructuring and reorientation, which requires massive funding. For instance, turning traditional armed forces into an information-centric military costs much more than building a mechanized one.
The US Air Force lost a B-2 stealth strategic bomber not long ago. The ultra-modern aircraft carries a price tag of $1.2 billion, about 2 percent of China's annual defense budget.
China's armed forces still have a long way to go toward information-centric warfare and their equipment is largely one or two generations behind their Western counterparts. How can they catch up without more financial input?
Today all major powers of the world are spending more on defense. Statistics show the US defense budget for the 2007 fiscal year was $461.3 billion (it would have exceeded $500 billion if spending on the war on terror was included), an increase of nearly 7 percent over the previous year; Russia's military spending for the same year was $31.02 billion, up 23.4 percent from 2006; India saw its 2007 defense budget grow by 7.8 percent to $23.7 billion; Britain put its defense budget at $64.6 billion; Japan $41.39 billion and France about $40.2 billion.
Most of these countries' defense budget accounts for 2.5 percent to 5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and roughly 15 percent of their budget spending, while China's defense budget is only 1.4 percent of its GDP and 7.2 percent of the annual budget spending. Why cannot China pursue defense modernization and military restructuring when other countries are doing it?
Second, what is more important is that we as a nation must maintain balanced development of all aspects of statehood, including economy and defense, very much like a human being, who will not survive if he is all bones and no muscle.
China's GDP grew by 10.8 percent in 2007; its GDP value increased from 12 trillion yuan in 2002 to nearly 24 trillion yuan last year. It is only natural that defense spending goes up alongside economic growth, or there will be no coordinated development of both economic strength and defense capabilities.
Also, our defense spending growth remains compensatory in nature, meaning the annual increases should have been made years if not decades ago. On the other hand, the fruit of reform should be shared by the whole society. When the country is spending more in other areas of development, why should defense be left behind?
Third, most countries' armed forces have increased capabilities in response to new challenges. Apart from traditional responsibilities, the Chinese armed forces are also faced with non-traditional threats to national security.
For example, the People's Liberation Army mobilized a huge number of troops and material support to help with disaster relief and reconstruction work during the recent snowstorm emergency in the central and southern parts of the country. New functions and capabilities naturally require more funding. How can China's armed forces cope with such added responsibilities without a bigger defense budget?
Fourth, any nation faced with real and present security threats would beef up national defense and military capabilities. For China, the Taiwan issue has not been resolved and the "Taiwan independence" advocates remain a real and present threat to our national security.
Last but not the least, China saw its prices rise by a big margin in 2007, and the cost of such defense provisions as fuel has gone up dramatically in recent months, forcing all departments to increase funding. Why should China not spend more on defense accordingly? This means, after adjustment against inflationary factors, China's increased defense spending is appropriate and necessary.
The author is a researcher with the PLA Academy of Military Sciences and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(China Daily, March 11, 2008)