Pentagon report 'grossly distorts facts'

By Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-27 07:36

The Pentagon said in the report that China's defense budget for 2008 was between $105 billion and $250 billion. China announced earlier this month a 14.9 percent rise in military spending this year to 480.68 billion yuan ($70.27 billion), a smaller increase than in previous years.

China's spending is dwarfed by US military expenditure, which is nearly 10 times higher.

"The negative view of the US military shows that some people in the US still view China as a threat," said Niu Xinchun, vice-director of the Center for American Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

"They always try to make the worst-case scenario about China," he added.

"The US military needs to create a potential enemy after the Iraq War and some are picking China," a military officer said yesterday on condition of anonymity.

In the report, the Pentagon said that Beijing's rapidly growing military strength is shifting the military balance in the region and could be used to force its claim in disputed territories.

The report, an annual assessment for Congress, said the Chinese mainland continues to develop weapons that threaten Taiwan, even though tensions across the Straits have reduced significantly.

The report also said that China is developing longer range capabilities that could have an effect beyond the Asia-Pacific region.

The report noted that the "pace and scope of China's military transformation have increased" in recent years with the purchase of foreign weapons and greater spending on new technologies and reforms of the armed forces. It said China continued to develop "disruptive" technologies such as anti-satellite weapons and satellite communication jammers.

Xinhua and AP contributed to the story

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