Foreign and Military Affairs

China slaps Japan report on defense budget

By Wu Jiao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-07-09 18:15
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China's National Defense Ministry Friday refuted Japanese media report that China's actual military spending is 1.5 times higher than the country's 2010 defense budget unveiled in March.

Japan's Kyodo News reported Thursday that China's military spending will total 788.0 billion yuan in 2010, about 1.5 times higher than the country's 2010 defense budget unveiled in March.

However, an official with China's Ministry of National Defense told China Daily that the report is "groundless".

"China's defense budget and spending is well monitored, and there is no so called hidden military expenditure as implied in the Japanese media," said the official who declined to reveal his name.