China Boosts Military Budget By 7.2% (Update)

China's Defense Budget 2019-2023. Graphic:Global Times 

 

Daily Mail: China increases its military budget by 7.1% - $230BN – to ’boost combat preparedness’ for ‘major tasks’ amid fears it will launch an invasion of Taiwan 

* China plunges $230bn into its military budget to 'boost combat preparedness' 

* It reverses a two-decade trend where China has prioritized growth over defense 

* Concerns are mounting that China is set to launch an invasion of Taiwan 

China announced it will boost its military budget by nearly $230 billion this year amid concerns it will launch an invasion of Taiwan. 

The money is set to 'boost combat preparedness and enhance military capabilities,' claimed Premier Li Keqiang ahead of a draft budget presented to the National People's Congress in Beijing. 

It means China's military spending will grow at its fastest pace in four years and take up a larger share of its economy, marking the reversal of a two-decade trend which has seen the nation prioritize growth over its military capabilities.  

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 China Boosts Military Budget By 7.2%  

Update-China Focus: China's 2023 defense budget to rise by 7.2 pct, remaining single-digit for 8th year -- Xinhua (China)  

China's 2023 defense budget to rise by 7.2%, a 'reasonable, restrained' increase amid global security tensions -- Global Times (China)  

China boosts military budget while warning of escalating threats -- BBC  

China plans 7.2% defence spending rise this year, faster than GDP target -- Reuters  

China boosts military spending by billions as US warns of potential Taiwan invasion -- FOX News

China boosting defense budget to $224B over Taiwan strife, Russia, Ukraine war -- NYPost  

Eye on Taiwan? Why China's move to raise military spending raises concerns -- India Times

China Increases Its Defense Budget By 6.6% For This Year

Defense News: China announces $178.2 billion military budget

MELBOURNE, Australia — China has announced a 6.6 percent growth in its defense budget for this year, its lowest rate of increase for almost three decades.

The growth in China’s defense budget would see spending rise from $167 billion last year to $178.2 billion, an increase of about $11 billion. The country has the second-largest defense budget in the world, behind only the United States.

Despite the growth of China’s defense budget being at its lowest, in percentage terms, since the early 1990s, the 6.6 percent figure only represents a slightly lower figure than the 7-7.5 percent growth many analysts estimated before the pandemic. In real dollar terms, the $11 billion increase in defense spending is the fifth-highest increase ever for the country.

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More News On China Increasing Its Defense Budget By 6.6% For This Year

China slows defense budget growth to 6.6 % in 2020 -- Global Times
China Focus: China further lowers defense budget growth to 6.6 pct -- Xinhua
China’s 6.6 per cent defence spending boost marks slowest growth in three decades -- SCMP
Growth in China's military budget slows to 6.6% -- Japan Times/AFP
China Sees Slowest Defense Budget Growth Since at Least 1991 -- Bloomberg
China defense spending rise at three-decade low, still to grow 6.6% -- National Post/Reuters
China's military budget growth slows to 6.6% -- CNA
China’s Defense Budget Doubles to $178.2B in a Decade -- Defense World

China's Military Wants A Massive Increase In Its Defense Budget

Insiders say the PLA will want to match or exceed last year’s 7.5 per cent growth rate as tensions mount on several fronts. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

SCMP: China’s military seeks bigger budget amid growing threat of US conflict

* Insiders say the PLA will want to match or exceed last year’s 7.5 per cent growth rate as tensions mount on several fronts
* While relations with Washington worsen, Beijing says it also faces threats from pro-independence forces in Taiwan, separatists in Tibet and Xinjiang

China’s military leaders are fighting for a substantial increase in their budget to be announced at the National People’s Congress that starts on Friday, arguing that the world’s largest standing army needs more resources to cope with volatile challenges at home and overseas. But top of the list is the growing confrontation with the US.

China-US relations have hit a low point amid a trade war, spats over civil liberties and Taiwan, and conflicts over Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Add to that accusations flying between Washington and Beijing about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic
and it is a toxic brew.

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WNU Editor: China's state media has been talking about a modest increase in this year's budget .... Experts predict 3 pct growth in China’s military budget amid rising defense needs (Global Times). I do not believe this "modest increase" is going to happen. What I expect is a double digit increase that is going to shock everyone.

China’s Defense Budget Is Near What The U.S. Spends

Three reports from the Pentagon very accurately describe the rapid growth and modernization of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. U.S. Department of Defense

Defense One: China’s Defense Spending Is Larger Than It Looks

Accounting for true purchasing power, Beijing’s military budget is about 87% of America’s.

An early lesson emerging from China’s handling of the COVID-19 emergency is that Beijing still manipulates data to fit its desired narrative. This has long been the case in China’s defense budget, where the party-government omits and withholds data to project a non-threatening image of its People’s Liberation Army. However, there are ways to cut through some of the mangled information.

If you account for differences in reporting structure, purchasing power, and labor costs, you find that China’s 2017 defense budget provided 87 percent of the purchasing power of American’s 2017 defense budget.

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WNU Editor: Beijing has a long history of manipulating its economic data, and as we have learned in the past three months, data on the Covid-19 crisis. So you can take this to the bank, they are also manipulating their numbers when it comes to their military and defense forces.

Update: Here is a good read .... Everything You Need To Know About the Chinese Military (June 22, 2019)

Is China's Military Buildup Slowing Down?

China's People's Liberation Army told to learn from Japan's 1894 victory

Richard A. Bitzinger, Asia Times: China’s rapid military buildup is slowing down

It’s defense budget season for the world’s major powers. This week, US President Donald Trump presented his request for military spending for fiscal year 2020, an unprecedented US$750 billion, including a whopping $174 billion slush fund known as the “overseas contingency operations” account (see my last column, Trump’s slush-fund defense budget).

Now China has released its budget for military expenditures for 2019, and it, too, will reach an all-time high of 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.6 billion). This is a 7.5% rise over China’s 2018 defense budget of 1.107 trillion yuan.

At issue is not the fact that Chinese military expenditures are going up, but by how much. Chinese defense spending has increased every year since the mid-1990s, but lately the annual rise has been slowing.

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WNU Editor: It is too early to say that this is a trend.

China's Defense Spending To Rise 7.5% In 2019 To $177.61 Billion

CNBC: China's defense spending is growing more slowly. But that doesn't mean military tensions are easing

* China on Tuesday set its 2019 defense spending at 7.5 percent higher than a year ago — or 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.61 billion).
* That's lower than the 8.1 percent growth in 2018 and far below double-digit increases of previous years — though analysts have long questioned how accurately the budget reflects actual spending.
* But slower growth in defense spending doesn't mean ongoing military tensions with the U.S. have ceased, warned Timothy Heath, senior international defense researcher at U.S. think tank Rand Corporation.

China announced Tuesday that military spending will grow at a slower pace than last year, but one analyst cautioned that it should not be interpreted to mean that military tensions with the United States will ease.

At its annual parliamentary meeting, the National People's Congress, Beijing set its 2019 defense spending at 7.5 percent higher than a year ago — or 1.19 trillion yuan ($177.61 billion).

That's lower than the 8.1 percent growth in 2018 and far below double-digit increases of previous years — though analysts have long questioned how accurately the budget reflects actual spending.

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More News On China's Defense Spending To Rise 7.5% In 2019

Modernising military remains top priority as China boosts defence spending to US$175.98 billion after announcement in Two Sessions -- SCMP
Rise in China's defence budget to outpace economic growth target -- Reuters
China's Defence Spending to Grow by 7.5% to $177.6Bln in 2019 - Draft Budget -- Sputnik
China to raise defence spending by 7.5%, lower than 2018 -- AFP
China's military is going from strength to strength under Xi Jinping -- Ben Westcott, CNN
China to spend 1.19 trillion RMB on military in 2019 -- Taiwan News
China Focus: China to lower defense budget growth to 7.5 percent -- Xinhua
Nation lowers defense budget growth to 7.5% in 2019 -- Global Times

China's Defense Budget Will Continue To Expand Even With A Slowing Economy

Soldiers march at a People's Liberation Army (PLA) base in Hong Kong as part of events marking the 20th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule, June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo

Reuters: Taiwan concerns mean China defense budget likely to defy slowing economy

BEIJING (Reuters) - A slowing economy is unlikely to crimp China’s 2019 defense budget rise, as Beijing earmarks more spending for modernization and big-ticket items like stealth jets, and focuses on Taiwan after a stern new year’s speech from President Xi Jinping.

The defense spending figure is closely watched worldwide for clues to China’s strategic intentions as it develops new military capabilities, including aircraft carriers and anti-satellite missiles.

In 2018, China unveiled its largest defense spending increase in three years, setting an 8.1 percent growth target for the year, fuelling an ambitious military upgrade program and making its neighbors nervous.

The 2019 number should be revealed at the March 5 opening of the annual session of China’s largely rubber-stamp parliament, although in 2017 it was initially not announced, prompting renewed concerns about transparency.

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WNU Editor: I am one of those who believe that China's defense budget is far bigger than what they are announcing. And what they want in the next decade is truly eye-opening .... 4 - 6 aircraft carrier strike groups, 6th generation fighters, strategic bombers, AI platforms, bases on man-made islands, and an arsenal of missiles far more than what they need for their defense.

China's Military Spending Will Increase 8.1% In 2018

CNN: China boosts military spending 8% amidst ambitious modernization drive

China plans to boost its military spending by 8.1% in 2018 as it looks to further advance an ambitious modernization drive for its armed forces.

A budget document made available to the media before the opening of China's 13th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing on Monday, reveals China will spend the equivalent of US$175 billion across all branches of the People's Liberation Army.

The 8.1% increase is higher than last year's announcement, when it upped military spending by 7% over the previous year. In straight dollar terms, US military spending far outweighs China's. The Pentagon has requested a budget of $686 billion in 2019, up $80 billion from 2017.

China's budget announcement comes as President Xi Jinping, the commander in chief of the country's armed forces, focuses on increasing both the sophistication and reach of the country's military.

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Update: China boosts defence spending amid military modernisation -- Reuters

WNU Editor: An 8.1% increase in defense spending is a huge increase .... not a "moderate" increase. China also does not provide a breakdown for how it allocates its defence budget .... which means that other departments may be spending money on defense even though they are not part of the defense budget.

Chinese Military Spending Will Continue To Rise

DW: National People's Congress — more money for Chinese military?

China's defense budget is once again thrust into the spotlight as delegates to its largely rubber-stamp parliament gather for their annual meeting. There are signs that Beijing’s military spending will continue to rise.

Fu Ying is an experienced diplomat. She was China's ambassador to the Philippines, Australia and the UK, and later vice foreign minister. Currently serving as chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislature, she has brought her diplomatic experience to bear over the past five years, particularly on the day before the opening of the body's annual session.

Appearing before the press, she has an uncanny knack of deflecting the attention from critical issues and strenuously defending the Communist Party's positions. This is particularly evident when it comes to the issue of China's defense spending, which is always presented at the NPC pre-opening press conference.

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WNU Editor:  The Chinese have made it a priority to be able to match the U.S. military in the decades to come .... and spending more money is part of that goal.

China's Defense Budget To Grow 7% This Year

Soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) march during the military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing, China, September 3, 2015. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo

Reuters: China's 2017 defense budget rise to slow again

Defying pressure for a strong increase in defense spending, China said on Saturday its military budget this year would grow about 7 percent, its slowest pace since 2010.

Last year, with China's economy slowing, the defense budget recorded its lowest increase in six years, 7.6 percent, the first single-digit rise since 2010, following a nearly unbroken two-decade run of double-digit increases.

With the administration of new U.S. President Donald Trump proposing a 10 percent jump in military spending in 2017, and worries about potential disputes with the United States over the South China Sea and the status of Taiwan, some in China had been pressing for a forceful message from this year's defense budget.

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WNU Editor: Other countries are sceptical of these numbers .... In break with past, China releases no exact defense budget (The Hindu). More here .... China to strengthen defenses, but budget details excluded (Reuters).

Update: China Finance Ministry Releases $151 Billion Defense Budget (AP)

More News On China's Defense Budget Growing 7% This Year

China to raise 2017 defense budget by around 7 pct: spokesperson -- CCTV
Spotlight: China's defense budget increase "eclipsed" by U.S. -- Xinhuanet
China announces smallest military spending increase in 7 years -- CNN
China continues trend of sinking defense budget growth -- DW
China’s Defense Budget to Rise 7 Percent -- VOA
China Dials Back Defense Spending Increases as Economy Cools - Bloomberg
China’s Defense Budget to Rise 7 Percent -- Financial Tribune
China Eases Foot Off Gas on Military Spending -- FOX News
China Raises Defense Spending But Not as Much as Trump -- NBC
As Trump pushes for bigger U.S. defense budget, China slows growth rate of its military spending -- Washington Post
Why China Intends to Boost Military Budget Following Trump's Announcement -- Sputnik

What Does China Exactly Spend On Its Military

Photo: World Affairs Board

CSIS: What does China really spend on its military?

A country’s defense spending represents the most direct way of measuring its potential military capability. In terms of gauging relative military strength, the size of defense budgets can be compared between countries over a set period of time. These comparisons are particularly insightful when tracing regional trends in military spending and identifying critical political events that have accelerated defense allocations. Defense budgets also serve to identify the importance of a country’s armed forces relative to other organs of the state. Therefore, it is necessary to consider not only gross defense spending but also the size of the defense budget relative to a government’s overall budget and a country’s gross domestic product (GDP). No matter how much a country spends on its military, however, it must still find ways to translate its potential capability for power into power itself.

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WNU Editor: A must read for China watchers. I can also provide some perspective on this debate. 30 years ago I lived in China, and I saw what the Chinese military looked like. Sandals instead of boots. Ragged uniforms. Poor knock-offs of Russian weapons. Low morale. And soldiers that always looked skinny and hungry. Today .... a completely different military. Hmmmm .... I can only imagine what another 30 years will bring.

Is Chinese And Russian Military Spending Combined Equal To What The U.S. Is Currently Spending?

China's President Xi Jinping (front), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd row), and US President Barack Obama (3rd row) walk as they take part in an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) family photo inside the International Convention Center at Yanqi Lake in Beijing, Nov. 11, 2014.

Kaya Forest and Sierra Rayne, American Thinker: China and Russia combined now at military spending parity with US

Each year about this time, as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) releases its global military spending database, we hear the same refrain: the United States spends more than the next [insert your favorite large number here] countries combined.

How wrong these analyses are, and those who advocate for greater American defense expenditures should know better.

Comparing military spending among major powers using a common U.S. dollar metric is simply economic nonsense. Given that adversaries such as China and Russia, among others, have massive in-house arms manufacturing capabilities as well as expend great resources on indigenous operations and maintenance requirements, the correct means of comparison is on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis.

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Update: Good News, Russia and China: The Great Shrinking of the US Military Is Here (Justin T. Johnson, National Interest)

WNU Editor: I am always sceptical of these reports. The U.S. may spend $600 billion on their military, but this does not include the intelligence budgets, the DOE's nuclear budget, and a whole bunch of other government programs and organizations. As for China's and Russia's defense budgets .... current economic hardships are resulting in decreasing military budgets .... not increasing.

China's Defense Budget To Rise 8%

Reuters: China's 2016 defense budget to slow in line with economy

China's defense budget this year is likely to rise at its slowest pace since 2010, in line with the decelerating economy and by a much lower figure than had been expected in military and diplomatic circles.

Fu Ying, spokeswoman for China's parliament, said the figure would increase by about seven to eight percent from 2015, following a nearly unbroken two-decade run of double-digit budget increases.

China's military build-up has rattled nerves around the region, particularly because China has taken an increasingly assertive stance in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas.

Read more ....

More News On China's Defense Budget To Rise By 8%

Xinhua Insight: China to announce lowest defense budget rise in six years -- Xinhua
China to Raise 2016 Defense Budget by 7-8 pct: Spokesperson -- CRI English
China Military Budget to Rise No More Than 8%, Slower Than Usual -- NYT
China's 2016 defense budget to slow in line with economy -- Reuters
China Defense Buildup Slows as Xi Focuses on Military Revamp -- Bloomberg
China's military budget to grow at slowest pace in five years -- CNN
China to increase defence spending by '7-8%' in 2016 - official -- The Guardian
China To Increase Military Spending Budget By 7% To 8% In 2016 -- IBTimes
China's Defense Spending to Rise 7-8 Percent -- VOA
China slows defence spending growth amid efficiency drive -- Financial Times
China’s Military Budget to Grow by 7-8% in 2016 - Official -- Sputnik
China’s defense budget to grow 7-8% in 2016 — official -- TASS
China says 2016 defense budget to rise 7-8 percent -- Fiscal Times
China’s military, like its economy, isn’t really winning right now -- Washington Post

What Is China's Real Defense Budget?

Kyle Mizokami, Real Clear Defense/War Is Boring: How Much Is China Really Spending on Its Military?

China has announced its defense budget for 2015. Beijing will spend the equivalent of $144.2 billion dollars on its military, a 10.1-percent increase year over year.

But this probably isn’t the real number — and there are serious questions about Beijing’s defense budget. For one, how much of an actual increase will the Chinese military get? Does this keep track with economic growth? And what does China spend more on — defending against foreign enemies or its own people?

The answers to those questions are … complicated.

WNU Editor: The Chinese national security budget is just as complicated as Americas. Kyle Mizokami is right when he says the following ....

.... China has more than one defense budget.

China’s internal security apparatus, which controls everything from the paramilitary People’s Armed Police to the so-called “Great Firewall of China” that blocks Internet traffic, is a juggernaut which rivals the Chinese military in spending.

Beijing declined to release the numbers for its internal security budget in 2013 and 2014, leading many to speculate that it was hiding an embarrassing fact. Namely, that China might spend more on internal security — defending against its own people — than it spends on deterring external enemies.

America's intelligence budget is separate from the Pentagon's .... and this does not include other U.S. government departments with a defense link .... like The Department of Energy (nuclear weapons), war contingency budgets, research projects via through NASA/DARPA/etc.. The Chinese are now employing the same methods .... they have learned from the best and are now doing the same thing that the U.S. has been doing for years.

China's Defense Budget To Grow 10% in 2015

Wall Street Journal: China to Boost Military Budget by About 10%

Economic slowdown has little impact on Beijing’s military modernization plans

BEIJING—China will raise military spending by about 10% this year, a senior Chinese official said on Wednesday, suggesting that an economic slowdown will have limited impact on modernization plans that include new submarines, aircraft carriers and stealth fighter jets.

Fu Ying, a spokeswoman for the National People’s Congress, told a news conference that the precise figure for the defense budget would be announced on Thursday, the opening day of the Chinese legislature’s annual meeting. She said it would be in line with the overall increase in government spending planned for 2015.

WNU Editor: This budget increase is even bigger than what is being publicly acknowledged (see above video).

Bloomberg

More News On China's Defense Budget To Grow 10% in 2015

China defense budget rise to defy slowing economy -- Reuters
China to boost military budget by 10 per cent -- Economic Times/AP
Beijing: China To Grow Defense Budget By 10% -- Defense News/AFP
China’s Military Budget Increasing 10% for 2015, Official Says -- NYT
China’s Defense Spending Slows as Xi Turns Graft Push on PLA -- Bloomberg
China to increase military budget by 10 percent to $145 billion -- Deutsche Welle
China Continues To Ramp Up Defense Spending, To Hike Budget By 10% In 2015 -- IBTimes
China to Boost Military Budget by 10 Percent -- VOA
China’s defense spending to grow 10% in 2015 -- ITAR-TASS
China’s Defense Budget to Grow by 10% in 2015 -- Sputnik
China’s Defense Budget to Increase 10 Percent in 2015 -- The Diplomat

Another Look At China's Defense Budget

China’s Defense Budget: A Mixed Bag -- The Diplomat

For the U.S. and its allies, China’s new defense budget contains both bad news and good news.

As my colleagues have already reported, China announced a military budget of 808.23 billion Yuan ($131.57 billion) for 2014, a roughly 12.2 percent yearly increase. Naturally, this has raised concern among many of China’s neighbors that are locked in territorial disputes with Beijing, as well as in the United States.

For the countries concerned about China’s growing defense spending, there is both bad news and good news (or at least less bad news) contained in this announcement.

Let’s begin with the bad. First, as is well known, China’s military spending in 2014 is almost certain to far exceed $132 billion, as Beijing is notorious for keeping much of its defense spending off the books. Many estimates of China’s 2013 defense spending put it closer to $200 billion, although any credible sources contain a caveat that the margin of error is high. Nevertheless, assuming it was around $200 billion in 2013, a 12 percent increase this year would put China’s defense spending at about $224 billion. The Pentagon’s base budget is about $527 billion for FY 2014, meaning that Beijing’s military budget is about 42 percent of the United States’. However, this gap is narrowing quickly given the stagnant or even declining U.S. defense budget and the large yearly increases in China’s military budget. As discussed more below, wide disparities in personnel costs further narrow the differences between U.S. and China defense spending.

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Previous Post: China Continues It's Massive Military Buildup As It Declares That It Will Raise Defense Spending By 12.2% For 2014

My Comment: What's my prediction .... America's defense budget will decrease as the U.S. economy continues to stagnate/debt continues to increase/and the electorate continues to demand (and elect) politicians who promise more entitlement spending. The Chinese defense budget will continue to increase because their economy is booming/there is general public support for a big and powerful military/and China has made the strategic decision to be the regional super-power in Asia.

Even With Double Digit Defense Growth Many In China Want To Increase The Defense Budget Even More

As Budgets Soar, China Still Fears Its Military Isn’t Growing Fast Enough -- Washington Post

BEIJING — When American analysts talk of China’s military, they often describe it in terms of the looming threat of the future, a rapidly modernizing and expanding force that could one day rival, or even worse, overtake the United States.

Such anxieties were fanned further this week with China’s announcement of yet another year of double-digit growth in military spending. The news prompted public alarm from the Pentagon to Manila and Tokyo.

But when China looks at its own army, it is often with fears that it is not big enough and is lacking in competence, modernization and the sheer hardened will of a well-trained force.

Chinese soldier are wimps, bemoaned a prominent Communist Party organ, describing them as “male soldiers with female characteristics.”

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My Comment: As a China watcher I have been hearing the same story from my Chinese contacts and friends for almost 30 years .... our military is too small .... we need to grow faster .... we need better weapons and training .... we need more nuclear weapons .... etc., etc., etc.. I always say .... why? .... and when is enough .... enough.

I am still waiting for an answer.

A Tale of Two Defense Budgets

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Richard W. Hunt, commander of U.S. Naval Surface Forces, greets Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Liang Guanglie and his delegation upon their arrival in San Diego, May 5, 2012. Liang is visiting U.S. military bases and meeting with U.S. military leaders to discuss U.S.-Chinese cooperation in areas of mutual interest including humanitarian and disaster relief assistance and counter-piracy measures. Petty Officer 3rd Class Christine Walker-Singh

Beijing And Washington’s Defense Budgets: A Tale of Two Cities -- Shannon Tiezzi, The Diplomat

Recently released defense budgets by China and the U.S. reveal different approaches but similar goals in Asia.

Beijing released its defense budget for 2014 today, as a draft budget was submitted to the National People’s Congress for review. Xinhua reported that the new budget called for a 12.2 percent increase, raising defense spending to 808.2 billion yuan ($132 billion). Outside of China, analysts and reporters viewed this increase with suspicion. “China’s Xi ramps up military spending in face of worried region,” a Reuters headline read. The article cited unease within Japan and Taiwan over a lack of transparency on how the money will be used.

Meanwhile, at the end of the February the Pentagon released its spending proposal, which called for cut-backs that would reduce the Army to between 440,000 and 450,000 troops (down from a peak of 570,000 in the post-9/11 period). News outlets across the country screamed variations of the New York Times’ headline: “Pentagon Plans to Shrink Army to Pre-World War II Level.”

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Update: China’s Military Budget Rises as Pentagon’s Retreats -- Timothy R. Homan, The Fiscal Times

My Comment: China's economy is booming .... hence they have the funds for their military. America's economy is stagnating .... hence they do not have the funds for their military. All that I can then say is that with time .... both budgets will meet.

China's Spokesman 'Channels' Former U.S. President Reagan's 'Peace Through Strength' Speech

Peace Can Only Be Preserved With Strength: NPC Spokeswoman -- Xinhuanet

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for China's top legislature on Tuesday defended the country's defense policies, saying that peace can only be preserved with strength.

Responding to a question concerning China's growing military power, Fu Ying, spokesperson for the second session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), said China as a major power is responsible for regional peace and security.

But "based on our history and experience, we believe that peace can only be maintained by strength," she told a press conference.

China' s military spending has long been cited as a cause for concern in western countries.

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My Comment: I have always remembered President Reagan's "peace through strength" speech (because he was right) .... and the visceral reaction to it (even from the Chinese). And now .... 30+ years later ... the Chinese are saying the same thing to justify their own defense buildup.

If you live long enough .... life's ironies become a joy to watch.

Inside Story : At Look At China's Military Build-Up

My Comment: A debate and analysis on China's military growth.