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SINGAPORE — Not long before U.S. President Barack Obama held his low-key meeting in the White House with the exiled Tibetan leader last month, the Dalai Lama, a Chinese Embassy spokesman in Washington issued a statement on the talks and the U.S. decision to provide a new package of defensive arms to Taiwan. “China’s positions on issues like arms sales to Taiwan, and Tibet, have been consistent …
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Mar.11 (China Military News cited from Time.com and written by Austin Ramzy) — For the past two decades, China’s rapid economic growth has been twinned with an even more rapid increase in military spending. While GDP has expanded by an annual average of 9.6% over the past 10 years, the reported budget for the People’s Liberation Army has grown by an average of 16%. So it was an unexpected surprise when Li Zhaoxing, a former foreign minister who is now spokesman for the National People’s Congress, announced on March 4 that China’s defense budget would increase by 7.5% for 2010, just over half of last year’s 14.9% rise.

The slowdown was partly attributed the difficult economic climate. While China was able to grow at 8.7% last year, that healthy rate came at the expense of $586 billion in stimulus spending. Last week Premier Wen Jiabao said that government spending would grow more slowly this year as Beijing seeks to control inflation while maintaining stable growth.

Amid those economic demands, another double-digit increase in military spending might be seen as excessive. But perhaps the most compelling reason for the slowdown in spending is that Chinese officials have become more cautious of the way the development of the People’s Liberation Army is perceived abroad. Last year China marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic with an Oct. 1 military parade in front of Tiananmen Square. While generally a cause for celebration in China, the parade of soldiers, tanks and missile carriers was seen as intimidating by many foreign observers.

Chinese military analysts have explained the rapid spending increase as normal for a large nation climbing out of decades of poverty. “Although China now has a growing military demand, it has always upheld the principle of peaceful development. The double-digit increases in the past should be interpreted as compensational growth,” says Zhao Zongjiu, deputy secretary-in-general at Shanghai Institute for International Strategic Studies, a government-backed think tank. “I predict that, given the current policy environment, the growth rate of military expenses will remain roughly on the same level as China’s GDP growth in the next few years.”

China’s 2010 military budget, which is awaiting legislative approval, will be $78 billion. That would make it second only to the United States, which for 2010 has a total budget of $663.8 billion. U.S. spending is equivalent to 4.7% of the nation’s GDP, while China’s defense outlay equals about 1.5% of its estimated 2010 GDP.

But military observers have long cautioned that China’s official defense budget figures shouldn’t be taken at face value, and that actual spending could be two or three times higher than what is reported. China is engaged in a significant number of expensive military equipment development programs, including likely efforts to develop its first aircraft carrier. Those all make it difficult to curtail spending, says Andrei Chang, Hong Kong-based editor-in-chief of Kanwa Defense Review Monthly. “There are very ambitious military plans for the Chinese,” he says. “This is the reason it’s impossible to have an increase of 7.5%.”

Improving ties with Taiwan have also lessened some of the military tension along China’s periphery. Beijing considers the self-ruled island a breakaway province that should ultimately be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. A more China-friendly leadership in Taipei has helped eased some of the fear of armed conflict. But the region still has the potential to be a flash point. Taiwan says China has some 1,500 missiles stationed along the Taiwan Strait. And a decision by U.S. President Obama in January to approve the sale of more than $6 billion in military equipment to Taiwan has angered the Chinese government, which has postponed some military exchanges with the U.S. in protest.

Chang also notes that China is just two years away from an expected reconfiguration of its leadership. President Hu Jintao is expected to step down, and will want to secure high positions for his political allies. Drastically curtailing defense spending could alienate the military, whose support he needs to ensure top spots for his proteges. “The new round of political power struggle is continuing,” Chang says. “You have to give souvenirs to the armed forces.”

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TAIPEI, Taiwan: China now has better fighter jets than Taiwan, according to a military report by the island’s Ministry National Defense (MND) as the air force yesterday renewed its bid to obtain new F-16s from the United States.
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China now has better fighter jets than Taiwan, according to a military report by the island’s defence ministry which has been unsuccessful in its attempts to seek new F-16 jets from the United States.
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RECENTLY, after the Obama administration announced a substantial arms sales package for Taiwan — one that was almost entirely defensive — China responded vociferously by suspending military exchanges.
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BEIJING, CHINA – A top Chinese Communist Party official said on Wednesday that Beijing was firmly committed to developing peaceful relations with long-time rival Taiwan, despite recent tensions over US arms sales to the island.
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Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou gives a speech to Taiwan businessmen who have invested in China in Taipei February 22, 2010. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang BEIJING, March 3 (Reuters) – A top Chinese Communist Party official said on Wednesday that Beijing was firmly committed to developing peaceful relations with long-time rival Taiwan, despite recent tensions over U.S. arms sales to the island.
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BEIJING, March 3 — A top Chinese Communist Party official said today that Beijing was firmly committed to developing peaceful relations with long-time rival Taiwan, despite recent tensions over US arms sales to the island. China reacted angrily in January after US President Barack Obama’s administration unveiled its first arms package for Taiwan — including missiles, helicopters and mine hunting …
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Beijing, Feb. 22 : With its proposed weapon deal with Taiwan, the US appears determined to encircle China with American-built anti-missile systems, Chinese military experts have observed.
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China’s anger at Obama’s decisions to allow a new arms sale to Taiwan and meet with the Dalai Lama has jeopardized the prospects for talks on Iran sanctions
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With its proposed weapon deal with Taiwan, the US appears determined to encircle China with American-built anti-missile systems, Chinese military experts have observed.
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China would give subsidies and preferred treatment to companies that manufacture products for national defence under a draft law now under review, state-run Xinhua news agency said Wednesday.

The report comes amid a major expansion and modernisation of the nation’s massive armed forces in recent years that has raised concern overseas over China’s military intentions.

Xinhua said the subsidies were part of a national defence mobilisation bill under consideration this week by a committee of the National People’s Congress, the nation’s rubber-stamp legislature, ahead of its full meeting next month.

Firms that invest in product research, development, or the manufacture of major defence-related items will “enjoy subsidies or other preferential policies”, it said.

The annual meeting of the full congress opens on March 5.

The smaller Standing Committee, which actually approves legislation, is meeting this week to consider various proposals.

After relying for decades on purchases of Soviet weapons or on homegrown arms based on Soviet designs, China has in recent years developed advanced weapons systems of its own, military analysts say.

Beijing has announced a series of double-digit military budget increases over the past several years and is expected to announced its 2010 budget next week.

The United States and some of China’s regional neighbours have expressed concern about the build-up, which Beijing stresses is defensive in nature.

China last month suspended military and security contacts with the United States out of anger over a 6.4-billion-dollar US sale of Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, mine-hunting ships and other weaponry to Taiwan.

China claims the self-ruled island as its own.

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March 1 (Bloomberg) — A proposed U.S. sale to Taiwan of missiles, helicopters and ships valued at about $6.4 billion will go forward. The House and Senate foreign affairs committees took no action on the proposal during the 30-day window for objection that ended yesterday, thereby allowing it to proceed in the face of protests from China.
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China has postponed several high-level exchanges between U.S. and Chinese military leaders since Washington angered Beijing by announcing a $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
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China’s military warned the United States against considering selling fighter jets to Taiwan, telling Washington to “speak and act carefully” and denying the People’s Liberation Army played a part in internet hacking.
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Honour guards stand in a line before an official welcoming ceremony inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, February 25, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEIJING, Feb 26 (Reuters) – China’s military warned the United States against considering selling fighter jets to Taiwan, telling Washington to “speak and act carefully” and denying the People’s Liberation Army played a part in Internet hacking.
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BEIJING – China warned the U.S. on Thursday against any future arms sales to Taiwan and reaffirmed its decision to suspend military exchanges over Washington’s plan to sell $6.4 billion in military hardware to the island.
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BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s military warned the United States against considering selling fighter jets to Taiwan, telling Washington to “speak and act carefully” and denying the People’s Liberation Army played a part in Internet hacking.
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China on Thursday asked the United States to avoid damaging bilateral relations further and also said it would not change its decision to suspend the planned mutual visits between the Chinese and U.S. militaries after the U.S. arms sale to Taiwan in late January. China had decided to suspend scheduled visits between the Chinese and U.S. armed forces, in response to Washington’s plan to sell an …
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China has postponed at least three high-level exchanges with the US military after Washington approved an arms package for Taiwan last month, a Pentagon spokesman said on Wednesday.
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