China defends increase in defense spending as proportionate

China has defended a recent increase in its 2018 defense budget, saying the hike is a reasonable compared to the United States.

Chinese state media said on Tuesday that the 8.1-percent rise in the country’s defense budget — which was announced at the opening of the parliament on Monday — was neither a huge percentage of the whole budget nor a sharp increase compared to the 2016 or 2017 defense budgets.

The China Daily said that, however calculated, the defense budget increase was minimal.

“China’s defense budget is neither the largest in size — it accounts for just one-fourth of the military spending of the United States — nor does it have the fastest growth rate,” the daily said in an editorial on Tuesday.

The English-language newspaper added that even if the Chinese defense budget was “calculated in per capita terms, China’s military lags well behind other major countries.”

China is against US military presence in the East China and South China Seas.

China sees US military presence in regional waters — far from US territory — as a potential security threat.

SS