Sunday, March 4, 2012

China boosts military spending 11.2 percent, stoking concern

China on Sunday announced an 11.2 percent hike in military spending in 2012, in a move expected to raise questions about its longterm intentions in the Asia-Pacific.

Reuters wrote that the increase would bring official spending on the People's Liberation Army — the world's biggest — to 670.3 billion yuan ($110 billion) for 2012, after a 12.7 percent increase in 2011.

It is also Beijing's first defense budget since President Barack Obama announced a strategic "pivot" to reinforce US influence across the region.

And it comes at a time when China’s Asian neighbors are "already unnerved by the country’s growing assertiveness in pressing territorial claims," the Washington Post wrote.

Read more: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/120304/china-military-j20-j10-stealth-fighter-us-japan-vietnam-philippines

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