Domestically, improving the quality of life for military personnel is an important government concern. Soldiers' and officers welfare will be increased, and so will spending on trainings and exercises.

Furthermore, the military's roles in disaster relief work, such as the Wenchuan earthquake, Yushu earthquake and Zhouqu mudslides have contributed to the growth of military expenditures.

So why is the world so sensitive about China's defense budget? The U.S. defense budget is US$671 billion, more than the sum of almost 20 countries behind it on the list. Why do people seldom criticize this?

After the end of Cold War, the size of Western military forces surpassed their defense needs. For some Western countries to cut their military budgets would be a natural adjustment to the reduction of the security threat. China's recent military increases are fair compensation for the relatively low growth China experienced in the past thirty years.

China's economy saw robust gains while most developed economies were engulfed by the global financial crisis. This has caused an unhealthy mood where China is seen by Western strategists as a threat to the West. This anxiety has led them to lose objectiveness in their observations.

As China speeds up the modernization of its military forces with advanced technology, it will surely attract more attention from the outside world. However, China is committed to a peaceful development strategy and defensive military strategy. All of China's overseas military personnel work for United Nations' peace keeping missions or are protecting merchant ships or UN-affiliated ships from Somali piracy. China is making a contribution to the regional and global peace, security and prosperity, and shouldn't be perceived as a threat.

Rear Admiral Yang Yi is a researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies at National Defense University.

This article was written in Chinese and translated by Li Shen.

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