China's defence spending will rise by 11.2 per cent this year, the latest in a long string of double-digit increases amid growing regional concern over Beijing's robust military build-up.
The figure was announced by Li Zhaoxing, the spokesman for the National People's Congress, ahead of the country's annual parliamentary session which opens today. It will bring China's official military spending to 670.3 billion yuan (HK$824 billion) for this year, after a 12.7 per cent increase last year and a nearly unbroken string of double-digit rises over two decades.
Military experts said actual spending might be substantially higher, as Beijing excluded outlays for its key special projects, such as its first aircraft carrier and a new generation stealth-fighter jet.
Li, a former foreign minister, said the world had nothing to fear since 'China is committed to the path of peaceful development and follows a national defence policy that is defensive in nature.
'You can see that we have 1.3 billion people with a large land area and a long coastline, but our outlays on defence are quite low compared to other major countries,' he said before today's opening of the NPC annual session, which will approve the budget.
'The limited military strength of China is solely for safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will not pose a threat to any country,' he added.
Li noted that China's military spending was mainly used to maintain the 2.3-million-strong People's Liberation Army - the world's biggest armed force - adding it also included the costs for 'research and development, procurement, repair, transportation and storage of weaponry, including new weapons'.