Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the Fifth Session of the 11th National People's Congress, told the foreign media at a press on March 4 that their longtime excessive attention to and over-interpretation of China's military budget is totally useless and unnecessary.
China will increase its military spending by more than 11 percent this year to about 670 billion yuan, Li Zhaoxing unveiled at the press.
In fact, foreign media's interpretation of China's military spending often runs counter to actual facts. China has set up strict procedures and principles for planning, using, and managing its military spending.
China's military spending completely depends on its defense needs and development strategies. The country plans its military budget strictly according to the principles of fulfilling needs, setting priorities straight, and achieving orderly growth.
Military spending should meet a country's needs, which is the first principle China should follow. A country's defense and military needs are determined by its security environment, the trend of military modernization, new military tasks under new circumstances, and the material and cultural needs of soldiers and officers.
China is facing increasingly complex security challenges. Certain countries are busy building up alliance with China's neighbors to contain the country's rise. Some of them have shamelessly intervened in China's maritime territorial disputes with neighboring countries, in hopes of complicating and exacerbating the disputes. Certain domestic and international separatist forces have carried out terror attacks in China to undermine the country's peace and stability. Furthermore, non-traditional security issues such as energy security and the security needs of strategic arteries have become more serious in recent years. The frequency and scope of natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and earthquakes have also increased, and the country is playing a growing role in maintaining world peace. The increasingly complex security situation has made China's military tasks increasingly difficult.
