China is building up its airfields for the eventuality of retaking South Tibet from Indian colonialists.
China has 10 airfields surrounding South Tibet for the war of liberation.
J-10 Vigorous Dragons have been deployed to Tibet (see picture below).
China's Military Spending to Double by 2015 - Report - China Real Time Report - WSJ
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China’s Military Spending to Double by 2015 – Report
by Jeremy Page
February 14, 2012, 3:14 PM HKT
Chinese Air Force J-10 fighter jets take off during training in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. (Associated Press)
China’s defense budget will double by 2015, making it more than the rest of the Asia Pacific region’s combined, according to a report from IHS Jane’s, a global think tank specializing in security issues.
Beijing’s military spending will reach $238.2 billion in 2015, compared with $232.5 billion for rest of the region, according to the report. That would also be almost four times the expected defense budget of Japan, the next biggest in the region, in 2015, the report said.
The new report was released as China’s Vice President, Xi Jinping, arrived in Washington at the start of a four-day visit to the U.S. that is seen as a prelude to his expected promotion to Communist Party chief in a once-a-decade leadership change in the fall.
Mr Xi, who is also Vice Chairman of the Party’s Central Military Commission, is due to visit the Pentagon on Tuesday after meeting his counterpart, Joe Biden, and Presdent Obama at the White House earlier in the day.
Ahead of the visit, he and other Chinese officials had expressed concern about the U.S. decision to refocus its military strategy on Asia last year, and complained of a “trust deficit” between Beijing and Washington.
China says that its military spending does not pose a threat to any other country, and has repeatedly pointed out that it still represents a tiny fraction of U.S. defense spending. But the new research highlights what U.S. officials are worried about: That China is rapidly increasing its military spending without being sufficiently transparent about its strategic intentions in the region.
Many of China’s neighbors have been alarmed in the last year or two by what they see as Beijing’s more assertive stance on territorial issues, especially over the South China Sea.
China says its defense budget for 2011 increased by 12.7 percent to about $91.5 billion, but many defense experts believe its real military spending is much higher.
IHS Jane’s put the figure for 2011 at $119.8 billion, and predicted it would increase by an average of 18.75 percent annually until 2015.
“China’s investment will race ahead at an eye watering 18.75 percent, leaving Japan and India far behind,” said Paul Burton, senior principal analyst of IHS Jane’s Defence Budgets.
He added that Taiwan’s defense spending was expected to have overtaken Singapore’s by 2015, while Vietnam and Indonesia were also forecast to increase military expenditure at a rate that exceeds GDP growth.
Rajiv Biswas, chief Asia Pacific economist for IHS Global Insight, was quoted saying: “Beijing has been able to devote an increasingly large portion of its overall budget towards defence and has been steadily building up its military capabilities for more than two decades.”
He continued: “This will continue unless there is an economic catastrophe. Conversely Japan and India may have to hold back due to significant economic challenges.”
Responding to the report, the Global Times, a nationalist tabloid published by the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, did not dispute IHS Jane’s projections but warned against Western powers “with an axe to grind” using China’s military budget to promote the idea of a China threat.
The aim of China’s defense modernization “is safeguard national unity and security,” the paper said (
in Chinese). Adhering to the policy of coordinated development of national defense and the economy, investment in national defense has always occurred on a moderate and reasonable scale.”
AIRSHOW-Asia's biggest arms, aerospace event begins under China shadow | Reuters
"* China defence spending to hit $238 billion by 2015
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Japan spending constrained by Fukushima disaster
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IHS Jane's said in a report that while all major Asian nations are forecast to increase spending on defence, China's military budget will soar to $238.20 billion by 2015 from $119.80 billion last year, growing about 18.75 percent per annum.
That number will exceed spending by all other nations in the region combined, but compares with a base U.S. defence budget of $525.40 billion for 2013.
In Asia, Japan and India follow China in defence spending, but both may be constrained in coming years while China is likely to steam ahead, underpinned by strong economic growth, analysts said.
"Japan's government debt and the investment needed after Fukushima will impact defence spend. We will increasingly see budget channeled towards key programmes and equipment," said Rajiv Biswas, chief economist in the Asia-Pacific for IHS Global Insight.
"India's government debt and fiscal deficit is very high as a share of GDP, and the rupee depreciated significantly in 2011, all of which will limit India's defence ambitions."
Nevertheless, Japan's defence budget is forecast to rise to $66.60 billion by 2015 from $60.30 billion last year. India's military expenditure is likely to be $44.90 billion in 2015 from $35.40 billion in 2011."
