China Massively Increases Miltiary Spending....

[Atheist-Lite]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_n ... udget.html

China announces double-digit hike in its defense budget

REPORTING FROM BEIJING -- China announced on Sunday an 11.2% increase in its defense budget for 2012, the latest in a string of double-digit hikes in recent years.

For the first time, China’s defense spending will top $100 billion and that figure is believed by international experts to omit such large-ticket items as its space program.

Although the increase is not as large as last year’s, it is enough to provoke anxiety at a time that the United States is shifting military resources to the Asia-Pacific.

The budget was unveiled, as in past years, on the eve of the opening session of the National People’s Congress, China’s equivalent of a legislature, which meets annually in March.

At a news conference Sunday, Li Zhaoxing, a spokesman for the congress, announced the $110-billion budget, while stating that the spending “constitutes no threat to other countries.’’

"You can see that we have 1.3 billion people with a large land areas and a long coastline, but our outlays on defense are quite low compared to other major countries," said Li.

By way of comparison, the U.S. Congress has approved $662 billion in Pentagon spending for next year, $43 billion lower than this year's budget.

China has been trying to upgrade its naval forces and in August unveiled an aircraft carrier it is developing -- a refurbished Soviet model acquired from Ukraine. It also did a test flight early last year of a prototype of a stealth fighter jet.

(continued, catching up or are they hoping they'll provoke a US overspend and Soviet Union style bankruptcy?)

[Warren Dew]

Although the increase is not as large as last year’s, it is enough to provoke anxiety at a time that the United States is shifting military resources to the Asia-Pacific.

The gall! Having a military that might be able to stand up to a fraction of the U.S. military, rather than just acquiescing in worldwide U.S. military supremacy without a fight!

[Atheist-Lite]

Although the increase is not as large as last year’s, it is enough to provoke anxiety at a time that the United States is shifting military resources to the Asia-Pacific.

The gall! Having a military that might be able to stand up to a fraction of the U.S. military, rather than just acquiescing in worldwide U.S. military supremacy without a fight!

They're only copying Reagan, on the cheap. Yeah, they spent $20 million on buying their one and only aircraft carrier. The US needs to keep up? and when the Republicans are back in watch American military expenditure go through the roof and living standards drop through the floor?