The United States warned China on Monday that its announced military spending boost was "inconsistent" with peaceful growth and hinted that Beijing was understating its defense expenditures.
"This kind of spending not only concerns us but raises concerns among China's neighbors. This is inconsistent with China's policy of peaceful development," said White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe. His comments came after Beijing announced a nearly 20 percent increase in defense expenditures in 2007.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday that China would continue to strengthen its armed
forces, remarks applauded by military leaders who want to counter new threats and take back Taiwan.
Spending in 2007 will rise 17.8 percent from last year to 350.9 billion yuan (about 45 billion
dollars).
Reunification with Taiwan is one of China's long-term objectives, and analysts have said Beijing
is beefing up its military partly to enable it to take the island back by force if necessary.
At the US State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack coupled a warning against any steps
that would "destabilize the status quo" with strong criticism of Chen's recent pledge to push for
Taiwan independence as "unhelpful." (Source: Zeennews.com,. Mar 6, 2997)