China to boost military spending

March 4, 2009

Page last updated at 06:48 GMT, Wednesday, 4 March 2009

China says it will increase military spending by a " modest " 14.9% this year to

480.6bn yuan ($70.2bn; £50bn).

The money will pay for better salaries, modernisation, and " capacity building

programmes " including counter-terrorism and disaster relief, a spokesman said.

China's military is for self-protection and does not pose a threat to any

country, said official Li Zhaoxing.

Analysts say defence spending is higher than the official figure, but Beijing

says there are no hidden outlays.

" There is no such thing as so-called hidden military expenditure in China, " said

Mr Li at a news conference in Beijing.

'Relatively modest'

The new military budget was released ahead of the annual session of the National

People's Congress, China's parliament, which begins on Thursday.

Mr Li described the increase as modest, saying that China wanted to protect its

sovereignty and territorial integrity " and would not threaten any country " .

Analysts say the increase marks the 19th double-digit boost in defence spending

by China in the last 20 years.

Previous increases in defence spending have been greeted by alarm from China's

neighbours and the US, who have voiced concerns over Beijing's modernisation of

its military.

The BBC's Reynolds in Beijing says that many people in China point out

that - per capita - China's spending is still relatively modest.

They also say that China's military budget is still about eight times smaller

than the military budget of the US, our correspondent adds.

The US military budget for 2009 has been pegged at $515bn, a 7.5% increase from

2008. That figure does not include billions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and

Afghanistan.

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