The National Journal March 4, 2011
China to Increase Military Spending By 12.7 Percent
By Ben Terris
China will raise their amount of military spending by 12.7 percent this year to $91.5 billion, the New York Times reports. That jump, an accelerated rise over last year's increase of 7.5 percent, falls just about in line with the average yearly increase for the country, which GlobalSecurity.org says is 12.9 percent.
Even with the increase, China’s military budget doesn’t come close to the United States’ 2010 budget of about $700 billion.
China's neighbors have complained of "increasingly muscular behavior in waters off its Pacific coast." But the increase in China’s military budget will go to bolstering their defensive force, spokesman Li Zhaoxing said. It “will not pose a threat to any other country.”
© Copyright 2011, National Journal Group Inc.
