US worried about China's military budget

In the Pacific region, which is now undoubtedly the economic center of the world, China as a new global power faces a large American military presence.

Territorial disputes over the tiny Senkaku archipelago in the East China Sea, the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and the constant growth of China's military budget are causing increasing concern in Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, as well as in Washington.

China's military budget doubled in the late 10s and early 11s, when this country overtook Great Britain and Japan in spending money for military purposes. Since then, in the last ten years, China's military budget has been growing at a rate of XNUMX-XNUMX percent per year.

Thus, in 2011, that country allocated a budget of 106 billion dollars to the army, and in 2012, 119 billion dollars, which is still three times less than the US military budget, which has been hovering between 475 and 525 billion dollars for a long time.

In terms of the size of the sum, China has the second largest military budget in the world, but viewed as a share of the total domestic gross product, Chinese spending for military needs is still lower not only than American, but also Russian.

Namely, the most populous country in the world allocated 1,4 percent of its budget to the army last year, while the USA allocated close to four and Moscow close to three percent of state money for maintaining and equipping its army.

A few years ago, Beijing announced its intention to significantly strengthen its navy in order to translate its decades-long economic growth into military-political influence in the Pacific.

The administration of President Barack Obama, however, also announced that the ocean, whose coastal countries are increasingly prominent leaders of the world economy, will be a priority of American foreign policy and military interest in the coming decades.

The US has a number of military bases in close proximity to China, namely in Japan, the island of Guam and the Philippines, and has traditionally helped equip the Taiwanese military.

Technological progress of the Chinese army

In a report submitted to Congress this month, US military experts point specifically to the strengthening of China's cyber warfare capabilities, the commissioning of China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, and the development of long-range anti-ship missiles aimed at neutralizing Washington's advantage in numbers and the quality of armed platforms at sea.

China is also making great strides in the development of aviation, which is reflected in the development of the domestic "invisible" fighter-bomber "Chengdu J-20" and unmanned aerial vehicles.

It is also believed that in 2011, the Chinese People's Army (KNA) possessed as many as 260 unmanned aerial vehicles, the number of which is undoubtedly greater now, and which, in the event of a possible conflict in the Pacific, could be used, in addition to reconnaissance, for such tasks as distraction anti-aircraft defenses of the enemy, even missile attacks on ships.

American experts also believe that the Chinese are working on the development of a stealth drone, as well as on the development of aircraft that can fly at extremely high altitudes on the border with space and thus perform surveillance and reconnaissance over a very wide territory.

The US is particularly concerned about the development of China's doctrine and killing power in the area of ​​space combat. In 2007, China destroyed one of its satellites with a ballistic missile in a successful exercise aimed at testing the country's ability to disable enemy telecommunications, navigation and reconnaissance.

Last year, that country launched as many as 18 telecommunication, spy and meteorological satellites, which significantly improved its ability to conduct regional and even global armed conflict.

One of the consequences of the strengthening of the Chinese armed forces and the increasing presence of Chinese ships in the waters around the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu), which are the subject of a dispute with Japan, is the decision of the government in Tokyo to increase its military budget by nearly 900 million euros. It is the first increase in military spending in Japan in 11 years.

The Japanese media also announced the acquisition of eight new high-capacity submarines whose main task will be to oppose the Chinese battle group that is now being formed around the carrier "Liaoning".

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