DEFENSE BUDGET HIKE EXPOSES CHINA'S ATTEMPT AT GLOBAL HEGEMONY: MAC
Central News Agency
2007-03-04 23:37:23
Taipei, March 4 (CNA) China's substantial military budget hike reveals its attempt at achieving global dominance or hegemony, Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu said Sunday.
The country's top China policy planner made the remarks after Beijing made public its draft budget bill for 2007 which shows a 17.8 percent increase in its military budget.
China's annual military spending has invariably registered a double-digit growth since 1993, Wu said, adding that the significant budget increase, coupled with a lack of transparency in its military buildup, a rapid expansion of its air and naval forces, and its progress in space defense technology, has led him into believing in China's attempt at global dominance.
In the foreseeable future, Wu said, the growth in China's military expenditure is not expected to slow down, but will instead accelerate. "The upward spiral in China's military budget has become a long-term trend," he added.
With no apparent present threat and no potential future threat to its security in sight, Wu said China's continued military budget growth deserves global attention and concern.
Quoting Western military experts, Wu said China's actual military budget is roughly three times its officially declared figure.
Noting that China's increased military budget underscores its rising threat to Taiwan and other neighboring Asia-Pacific countries, Wu said Taiwan's plan to procure three big-ticket weaponry systems -- eight diesel-electric submarines, six Patriot PAC III anti-missile batteries and a squadron of 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft -- is aimed at beefing up its defense capability in the face of China's ambitious military buildup.
(By Sofia Wu)
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