China plays down army budget increase

Western military experts estimate China's actual military expenditure is at least three times that of the publicized outlay

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- China's generals have indicated that the army's big budget boost is modest and will not constitute a threat to foreign countries.

However, they have stressed the determination of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to smash any "separatist plots," a reference to the pro-independence movement in Taiwan.

PLA delegates to the National People's Congress (NPC) have defended the 17.6 percent army budget increase contained in the financial report that Finance Minister Xiang Huaicheng presented to the legislature Wednesday morning.

"There is nothing to be astonished about [in the military budget]," said Vice-Chief of Staff General Kui Fulin.

"The budget increase is normal and is being used to pay for the cost of living of soldiers."

Modest budget hike

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General Song Qingwei, a former political commissar of the Jinan Military Region, said China's military budget was still small because it was less than 10 percent of that of the United States.

Chief of Staff General Fu Quanyou indicated the budget increase was not in response to the recent hike in American defense expenditure.

General Fu said he did not think the PLA's budget boost would ignite an arms race in the region.

However, other senior officers attending the NPC said that China needed a strong army to ensure its status as an important power.

"Only when a country's economy and army are equally strong can it become a big power," said General Cai Renshan of the Jinan region.

'Holy task'

Speaking on the fringes of the legislative assembly, Defense Minister General Chi Haotian said the PLA would continue to shoulder its "holy task" of maintaining the unity of the motherland.

PLA delegates to the NPC have defended the 17.6 percent army budget hike

"We have the determination and ability to smash any plots to split up the motherland," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Chi as saying.

Spokesman for the U.S. State Department Richard Boucher said Washington was paying attention to the possible impact of the PLA budget increase on regional stability.

He said the U.S. had asked Beijing to increase the transparency of its armed forces.

Western military experts have pointed out that the real military expenditure in China is at least three times that of the publicized outlay.