China will beef up its military budget by 12.7 per cent this year, the government said today in a return to double-digit spending increases that will stir regional unease.
The country's growing military clout has coincided with a more assertive diplomatic tone, evident in spats last year with Japan and Southeast Asia over disputed islands, and in rows with Washington over trade, the yuan currency and human rights.
Chinese parliamentary spokesman Li Zhaoxing said the defence budget would be 601.1 billion yuan (€65 billion) in 2011, from 532.1 billion yuan last year. The budget went up by just 7.5 per cent in 2010, after a long period of double-digit hikes.
Many experts believe China's actual spending on the 2.3 million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA) is far higher than what the government reports.
China, now the world's second-largest economy, often points out that its defence spending pales in comparison with the United States and that its military upgrades are for defensive purposes.
The Pentagon last month rolled out a record base budget for fiscal year 2012 of $553 billion, up $22 billion from the level enacted for 2010.
But China has made some eye-catching moves in recent months, none more so than conducting its first test flight of a stealth fighter jet when US defense secretary Robert Gates was visiting Beijing in January.
Beijing could also unveil its first aircraft carrier this year, according to Chinese military and political sources, a year earlier than US military analysts had expected.
Other nations are upgrading their forces in response to China's build-up.
India increased annual defence spending by about 11.6 per cent this week, for example, and is shopping for advanced fighter jets, transport aircraft, surveillance helicopters and submarines.
Reuters