The increment of China's defense budget for 2010 has dropped by 7.5 percent as compared with the 2009 defense budget increment of about 15 percent. Such budget increment has broken China's two-digit defense budget increment in the past 20 years. We trust this budget would be a great disappointment to Beijing's the hawkish group whose ambition is for Beijing to have an expanded modernized military.
Before China's NPC (National People's Congress) and CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) convened its joint session this year, a new book titled "China's Dream" written by Liu Mingfu, a senior colonel in the People's Liberation Army, came out with a view that says China's dream is to replace the United States to be the No. 1 militarily strong country."
As a matter of fact the new thought of the hawkish camp within the Chinese military is to use the modernized national defense as support for domestic need so that the national defense can lead China's economy to a new height and to allow the emergence of Chinese as a race. As such, the reduction of China's defense expenditure increment percentage this year as compared with in 2009 is definitely not in line with the new thought of the hawkish camp within the People's Liberation Army.
Message of Peaceful Emergence
Of interest is that in an article titled "China's New Military Budget Sends Message of Peaceful Emergence", that appeared in Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao recent, the article says: "According to many specialists, the new military budget as announced by China is a powerful message to show that China is moving toward peaceful emergence. The Chinese authorities have no intention to exert strong emphasis on building a strong military base and weaponries. In recent days, many people from Beijing also hold such a view."
However, as the writer of this article, I do not agree with such logic. When China reduces its increment percentage of defense budget, you say China is sending out the message of peaceful emergence. However when China begins to increase the percentage of its defense budget, people then come out with the "China Threat" theory. If even people in China say that the reduction of China's defense budget increment is an indication that China is moving toward peaceful emergence, then it will only prove to people who hold China Threat view that the reverse is also true.
In a report published by the Sweden Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 2009, we learn that in 2008, the United States remained the largest military expenditure country and China has moved up as the second country with highest military expenditure. However, this report also mentioned that the annual military expenditure of China was only one-eighths of the US annual military expenditure. From 1988 to 1997, China's annual defense budget increment was about 14.5 percent. From 1998 to 2007, China's annual defense budget increment was 16.9 percent. It is only during this year that China's increment in defense budget has dropped from two digits to one digit.
Increase in Military Expenditure
In retrospect, when I wrote "The joy of China in becoming the No 2 highest military expenditure country," this article could make China sounds rather arrogant. But as I explained above, this was not the case. It was only when China was economically strong that it would consider increment in military expenditure. Since China does have increase in military expenditure every year, the military should make good use of what they were given then. The writer of this article absolute disagrees with the notion that the decrease in percentage of China's increment in defense budget as compared with last year is an indication that shows China is moving along the path of peaceful emergence.
As a matter of fact, China does not have to care about what other said about its defense budget, or how it is going to spend its defense budget. If the Chinese authority feels that it is time to increase the percentage of its defense budget, it will increase it. If China feels there is a need to decrease the percentage of its defense budget increment, it will decrease the same.
The way China handles its defense budget should not be viewed as once China reduces the increment of its defense budget percentage, China is moving toward the path of peaceful emergence. Likewise we should not think that when China increases its military budget, China will be a military threat to other countries. It is important for the propaganda officers in Beijing to understand such logic.
Defense Budget Issue
In my opinion, when China handles its defense budget issue, Beijing only needs to make clear the following two points. First, in the past, China has never claimed in wanting to become the world superpower. China has not invaded other countries using military power. When China becomes strong, China will not violate other countries' national interest too. However, no country should attempt to violate China's territory and China's core interest also. Second, China is a big country with vast land and huge population. China has a heavy responsibility to maintain its national defense and security. China must have a corresponding military budget to handle such a heavy defense responsibility. China's GNP (Gross National Product) will soon supersede Japan and become the world second largest economies. When Japan has the military protection coming from the United States, it is most natural and normal for China's military expenditure to become No. 2 in world rating after the United States.
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