China to boost defense spending by 15 pct in 2009

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090304/ap_on_re_as/as_china_politics;_ylt=ApSNjhn0MFtSZZRRaAVhtMMBxg8F

"BEIJING – China announced plans Wednesday to boost spending on its increasingly potent military 14.9 percent this year, maintaining nearly two decades of annual double-digit defense hikes that have stirred concern in Washington and among Beijing's neighbors.
In announcing the spending increase, a spokesman for the national legislature, Li Zhaoxing, played down worries about China's military might, saying the boost was "modest" and suitable for world's third largest economy. Much of the additional funding would go toward boosting salaries and benefits for servicemen, he said.
China's defense spending is on par with the budgets of Japan, Russia and Britain, but is still dwarfed by U.S. military expenditures, which are nearly 10 times as large. International military experts say Chine's defense budget may be much higher than Beijing says because spending on military hardware and other items are not included."