|
China's Military Spending to Rise
BEIJING (AP) - China will increase spending on its military by 12.6 percent this year to $29.9 billion, a government spokesman said Friday, adding to a series of recent annual double-digit rises. The announcement comes as Beijing expands its military to back up its frequent threats to attack self-ruled Taiwan, which the communist mainland claims as part of its territory.Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for China's parliament, disclosed the budget figure at a news conference on the eve of the opening of the legislature's annual session. Jiang didn't give any details of how the military intended to spend the money. China's total military spending is believed to be as much as several times the announced figure. China has announced double-digit increases in military spending nearly every year for more than a decade as it modernizes the 2.5-million-member People's Liberation Army, the world's biggest fighting force. Beijing has spent billions of dollars on acquiring Russian-made fighter jets, submarines and other high-tech weapons. Posted by: Steve White 2005-03-04 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=57993 |