China has no plan for military expansion


(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-05 13:16
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BEIJING: China has no plan for military expansion as its development of national defense is for its own security, a Navy testing base commander of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said here Friday morning.

Commander and Rear Admiral Cao Dongshen, also deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua on the sideline of the opening of annual session of China's top legislature Friday.

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When asked about the speculation on China's plan of building an aircraft carrier, Cao said: "Whether China builds its aircraft carrier or not depends on the nation's need. The aircraft is just one kind of military equipment and nothing for speculation."

"This is like someone need a long-barreled gun and others just want a short arm. Demands of different countries are distinct," he said.

China plans to increase its national defense spending by 36 billion yuan ($5.27 billion), or 7.5 percent, from last year to 519.082 billion yuan ($76.3 billion) in 2010, according to a draft budget report submitted to the legislature Friday morning.

The 7.5 percent hike, half of last year's increase, represented the smallest increase in China's defense spending in two decades.