China has increased its military budget in the past year by nearly 18 per cent in 2009. (Reuters: stringer Shanghai)
China’s Military Development, Beyond the Numbers -- Andrew S.Erickson and Adam P. Liff, The Diplomat
While reports warn of China’s rising military budget and lack of transparency, numbers and hyped headlines often cloud the bigger picture.
Given China’s rapid rise in all aspects of national power, as well as its reluctance to release specific details about many important aspects of its military spending, its annual budget announcement rightly attracts worldwide attention. Last week, China revealed its projected 2013 official defense budget: 720.2 billion yuan (roughly $US114 billion), a figure that continues a trend of nominal double-digit spending since 1989 (the lone exception: 2010).
Although China’s limited transparency about specific defense budget line items matters, it shouldn’t distract observers from seeing the bigger picture concerning China’s military development:
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My Comment: A long analysis .... but for China watchers a must read.
Update: China’s defense spending mystery -- Scott Harold, Special to CNN
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