China military spending to top $100 billion this year

Beijing's Communist rulers are planning an 11% increase in the military budget this year, surpassing the $100 billion mark for the first time. The defense budget for 2011 was $91.5 billion, a 12.7% increase over the 2010 budget of $78 billion. Continued increases in defense have brought up questions about China's long-term intentions as a military power. China has been focusing on technology in addition to building up the pure numbers of The People's Liberation Army. They have a home-built J20 stealth jet fighter and an aircraft carrier, a refurbished 1998 purchase from Ukraine. Chinese leaders maintain the peaceful nature of their defense program, yet, what can be said about a country who by 2015 is projected to have a defense budget that surpasses the total of its 12 Asia Pacific neighbors? This kind of military power sends jitters around the region, since China has become increasingly assertive over long-standing territorial claims, especially regarding the resource-rich South China Sea. Several regional countries like India, Indonesia, and Vietnam have begun increasing their military capabilities in response to China's growth in spending and assertiveness. Some US allies, like the Philippines, have appealed for a stronger US presence in the Asia Pacific.

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Jill Laumbacher