China announced its biggest rise in military spending in three years yesterday, a strong signal from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that Beijing is not about to back away from its growing assertiveness in Asia, especially in disputed waters.
The government said it would increase the defense budget by 12.2 percent this year to 808.23 billion yuan (US$131.57 billion), as China seeks to develop more high-tech weapons and beef up coastal and air defenses.
The increase follows a nearly unbroken run of double-digit hikes in the defense budget for the past two decades.
“This is worrying news for China’s neighbors, particularly for Japan,” said Rory Medcalf, a regional security analyst at the independent Lowy Institute in Sydney.
Those who thought Xi might prefer to concentrate on domestic development over military expansion in a slowing economy had “underestimated the Chinese determination to shape its strategic environment,” he added.
The increase in spending appears to reflect Xi’s desire to build what he calls a strong, rejuvenated China. The spending jump is the biggest since a 12.7 percent rise in 2011.
Within hours of the announcement, officials in Taiwan and Japan had expressed disquiet over the absence of any details on how Beijing will spend the money.
In Taipei, while noting the “substantial” spending increase was needed to modernize China’s military, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said much remained hidden.
“The transparency of China’s defense budget has always been questionable, as it is widely seen there are a massive amount of military items hidden,” he said.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said China’s lack of clarity in its defense policy and spending was a global concern.
Speaking at the opening of the National People’s Congress yesterday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) said the government would “strengthen research on national defense and the development of new and high-technology weapons and equipment” and “enhance border, coastal and air defenses.”
He gave no details.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
LONG-HELD POSITION: Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks. “I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia. “No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying. A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters
RSS