Via the BBC: Jump in Chinese defence spending

China’s military budget will increase by 17.8% in 2024, the spokesman for the National People’s Congress has said.

[…]

Mr Jiang said the money would be used to increase wages for military personnel and to upgrade weapons, but gave no further details.

China says its military budget rose by 14.7% last year to $36.6bn (£18.6bn), but the US and other observers believe the actual figure may be two or three times that amount.

Correspondents say China is seeking to modernise its huge but often poorly-equipped military forces by building or purchasing new ships, missiles and fighter planes.

This should hardly be a surprise, given China’s goals for both regional and global significance.  Similarly, it is hardly surprising the the US (and the Japanese, amongst others) would look askance at such a move.  Welcome to the world of international relations, where everyone is a rational hypocrite:  weapons for me, but outrage aimed at thee.

I also wonder as to the degree to which the Chinese government is using the military as a way of upping the economic status of the vast number of peasants who live outside the growth zones of the country.

I further wonder as to the sustainability of massive spending increases for defense and what percentage of Chinese GDP is spent on this front.

Technorati tag: China