The US is spending too much on its military in light of its recent economic troubles, China’s top general said yesterday while playing down his country’s own military capabilities.
People’s Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde (陳炳德) told reporters he thought the US should cut back on defense spending for the sake of its taxpayers. He was speaking during a joint news conference in which he traded barbs with Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.
“I know the US is still recovering from the financial crisis,” Chen said. “Under such circumstances, it is still spending a lot of money on its military and isn’t that placing too much pressure on the taxpayers? If the US could reduce its -military spending a bit and spend more on improving the livelihood of the American people ... wouldn’t that be a better scenario?” he said.
Mullen’s visit is the first of its kind in four years. Mullen and Chen are trying to upgrade military-to-military ties after setbacks over US arms sales to Taiwan, cyber attacks traced to China and concern about Beijing’s military plans.
China’s military budget of US$95 billion this year is the world’s -second-highest after Washington’s planned US$650 billion in defense spending.
Mullen acknowledged tough challenges to improving their military ties and called for more communication as well as “clearer and more pragmatic expectations.”
Chen said China is more than two decades behind the US in terms of military technology and Beijing needs to upgrade by adding new hardware such as aircraft carriers.
“China is a big country, and we have quite a number of ships, but these are only small ships and this is not commensurate with the status of a country like China,” he said. “Of course I hope that in future we will have aircraft carriers.”
Chen said a former Soviet-era aircraft carrier that China bought from Ukraine in 1998 was “a valuable thing” for China and it was being used for research and development purposes.
During their talks yesterday, Chen said he and Mullen also discussed China’s development of a new missile system, the Dong Fang 21D. Analysts have said the “carrier killer” missile might threaten US warships and alter the regional balance of power.
China’s push to cultivate homegrown aircraft carrier and missile technology has raised the stakes for Washington, long the pre--eminent naval power in Asia, and jangled the already edgy nerves of China’s neighbors, perceiving from Beijing more assertive enforcement of claims to disputed territories.
Over the past year, China has seen a flare-up in territorial spats with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam and seen its relations strained with South Korea — all of which have turned to Washington for support.
Chen criticized the US for its recent military exercises with the Philippines and Vietnam, saying they should have been put off due to the heightened regional tensions. Mullen defended the operations as routine.
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