China boosts military budget by 11%

The draft defense budget for 2012 was set at 670 billion yuan (106.4 billion dollars) in 2012, up 11.2 per cent from 2011, a spokesman for China's nominal parliament, the National People's Congress, said.

The government says it needs the increased funds to modernize its 2.5-million-strong People's Liberation Army. But foreign politicians and analysts have raised concerns over the speed and transparency of its military expansion.

Li Zhaoxing, the spokesman for the congress, said recent annual increases reflected “reasonable and appropriate growth of defense spending.”

Military spending as a proportion of China's gross domestic product fell from 1.33 per cent in 2008 to 1.28 per cent last year, he said.

Li said China was committed to “peaceful development,” and he insisted the military buildup was merely defensive.

“The Chinese government follows the principle of coordinating defense development with economic development,” Li said. “It sets the country's defense spending according to the requirement of national defiance and the level of economic development.”

The 3,000-member National People's Congress is scheduled to discuss and approve the national budget during its annual 10-day session, which begins on Monday.

Some Western critics claim China's real military spending is up to three times the budget figure, but Li said the budget included the cost of all weapons systems.

Chinese analysts and state media said earlier this year that U.S. President Barack Obama's shift of military focus to the Asia-Pacific region marked a major change that appeared to target China.