kaykay
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2011
- Messages
- 8,933
- Reaction score
- -1
- Country
- Location
China's military budget will outstrip the combined defence spending of the rest of the Asia Pacific region over the next five years, causing increased anxiety among its rivals and neigbours, a new report has claimed.
By Peter Simpson, Beijing
3:06PM GMT 14 Feb 2012
Global research group IHS has forecasted Beijing's military outlay will double from its 2011 US$119.8 billion spend to US$ 238.2 billion by 2015.
That exceeds the US$ 232.5 billion spent by the region's 12 key defense markets, including Japan and India.
Sarah McDowall, head of IHS Global Insight's Asia Pacific desk, said the projected 18.75 per cent annual growth rate will "intensify concern among various governments" in the region.
"The political interplay is complex. Perhaps most importantly, it has prompted Washington to undertake a diplomatic campaign to reassert its profile in the Pacific . . . and to maintain a situational awareness of China's military development," she said.
By 2015, China's military spend will be four times larger than second-placed Japan, the report claimed.
Beijing's defence budget has grown 12 per cent annually from 2000-2009, said HIS Asia Pacific chief economist Rajiv Biswas, who helped compile the report, which also tracks the media spend of India, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and New Zealand.
"Beijing has been able to devote an increasingly large proportion of its overall budget towards defence and has been steadily building up its military capabilities for more than two decades," said Mr Biswas.
"This will continue unless there is an economic catastrophe. Conversely, Japan and India may have to hold back due to significant economic challenges," he added.
The report has been released to coincide with the arrival in the US of China's almost certain president-in-waiting Xi Jinping, who, as current vice chairman, will also most likely be appointed chief of the ruling Communist Party's Central Military Commission by year's end.
Mr Xi is due to visit the Pentagon during his four-day official visit.
He and other Chinese officials have expressed concern about the US decision to refocus its military strategy in the Asia Pacific region.
Washington has pledged more troops and to expand bases in several countries, including Australia and the Philippines – a commitment widely viewed as containment of an ever more assertive Beijing stamping its authority over sensitive, resource rich waters off its coast.
Beijing claims it military expansion does pose any threat to its neighbour and repeatedly points out its defence budget is significantly lower than that of the United States.
Last year, however, China's internal security budget jumped past its military spend for the first time as Beijing began cracking down on protest calls and a sharp increase in civil disturbances, according to a report by Reuters.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ts-neighbours-combined-as-budget-doubles.html
By Peter Simpson, Beijing
3:06PM GMT 14 Feb 2012
Global research group IHS has forecasted Beijing's military outlay will double from its 2011 US$119.8 billion spend to US$ 238.2 billion by 2015.
That exceeds the US$ 232.5 billion spent by the region's 12 key defense markets, including Japan and India.
Sarah McDowall, head of IHS Global Insight's Asia Pacific desk, said the projected 18.75 per cent annual growth rate will "intensify concern among various governments" in the region.
"The political interplay is complex. Perhaps most importantly, it has prompted Washington to undertake a diplomatic campaign to reassert its profile in the Pacific . . . and to maintain a situational awareness of China's military development," she said.
By 2015, China's military spend will be four times larger than second-placed Japan, the report claimed.
Beijing's defence budget has grown 12 per cent annually from 2000-2009, said HIS Asia Pacific chief economist Rajiv Biswas, who helped compile the report, which also tracks the media spend of India, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and New Zealand.
"Beijing has been able to devote an increasingly large proportion of its overall budget towards defence and has been steadily building up its military capabilities for more than two decades," said Mr Biswas.
"This will continue unless there is an economic catastrophe. Conversely, Japan and India may have to hold back due to significant economic challenges," he added.
The report has been released to coincide with the arrival in the US of China's almost certain president-in-waiting Xi Jinping, who, as current vice chairman, will also most likely be appointed chief of the ruling Communist Party's Central Military Commission by year's end.
Mr Xi is due to visit the Pentagon during his four-day official visit.
He and other Chinese officials have expressed concern about the US decision to refocus its military strategy in the Asia Pacific region.
Washington has pledged more troops and to expand bases in several countries, including Australia and the Philippines – a commitment widely viewed as containment of an ever more assertive Beijing stamping its authority over sensitive, resource rich waters off its coast.
Beijing claims it military expansion does pose any threat to its neighbour and repeatedly points out its defence budget is significantly lower than that of the United States.
Last year, however, China's internal security budget jumped past its military spend for the first time as Beijing began cracking down on protest calls and a sharp increase in civil disturbances, according to a report by Reuters.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ts-neighbours-combined-as-budget-doubles.html
