BEIJING - China’s increase in military spending for 2018, the biggest rise in three years,was proportionate and low, and Beijing had not been goaded into an arms race with the United States, state media said on Tuesday.
China on Monday unveiled an 8.1 percent rise in defense spending at the opening of parliament, fuelling an ambitious military modernization program and making its neighbors, particularly Japan and self-ruled Taiwan, nervous.
In an editorial, the official China Daily said the figure had prompted “finger-pointing from the usual suspects”.
“China’s defense budget is neither the largest in size - it accounts for just one-fourth of the military spending of the United States - nor does it have the fastest growth rate,” the English-language newspaper said.
“And if calculated in per capita terms, China’s military lags well behind other major countries.”
The defense spending figure is closely watched worldwide for clues to China’s strategic intentions as it develops new military capabilities, including stealth fighters, aircraft carriers and anti-satellite missiles.
Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet Admiral Scott Swift described China’s lack of transparency as “troubling.” (Reuters)