China has no desire to overturn the existing international order and its increasingly powerful military does not constitute a threat to others, Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and National People’s Congress (NPC) spokesman Zhang Yesui (張業遂) said yesterday.
In a break with recent practice, Zhang refused to provide a figure for the rate of growth in the national defense budget.
However, he sought to strike a reassuring tone in remarks at a news conference on the eve of the congress’ annual session.
Photo: Bloomberg
He said China defended and contributed to the UN-centered global order, but also said some reforms were necessary.
“China’s development is conducive to world peace, stability and prosperity,” he said, pointing to global economic growth, trade and poverty reduction.
“As to the international order, we have no intention of overthrowing everything for starting over again,” Zhang said.
Photo: Reuters
Reforms should focus on “international rules that have fallen behind the times and no longer align with the shared aspirations of all nations,” he said.
China’s secretive military had begun to open up a crack in recent years, and the NPC spokesman has made a tradition of responding to a question on the defense budget by announcing the percentage increase over the past years, at least in rough terms.
Zhang did not address the question of numbers, saying instead that past increases by a “modest margin” had gone to equipment upgrades, training and improving welfare and living conditions for troops.
China’s defense spending as a share of GDP and the budget also remains lower than that of other major nations, he said.
“China proceeds from a defense policy that is defensive in nature. China’s development will not pose a threat to other countries,” Zhang said.
The Chinese Ministry of Finance last year said the defense budget would top 1 trillion yuan (US$145 billion) after the exact figure was initially kept out of documents released at the start of the annual legislative sessions.
However, China’s publicly announced defense spending has never been accurate since it omits a significant amount of “off-book” expenditures on defense equipment projects, said Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra.
“What’s alarming is not the non-reporting of largely fictitious defense spending figures so much as the Chinese leadership is shedding even the pretense of being open about its military plans,’’ Jennings said in an e-mail.
Combined with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) plans to eliminate term limits on his rule and his consolidation of control over the military, the lack of public information about defense spending and military planning “pushes China toward a more authoritarian and militarized leadership,” Jennings said.
“These trends should be deeply concerning to the Asia-Pacific region and beyond,” he said.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS