China's defense budget will rise 14.7 percent to 280.7 billion yuan (US$35 billion) this year, according to a budget report distributed in Beijing yesterday.
The increase is meant to strengthen the army's capability to fight a defensive war, to respond to emergencies and to raise soldiers' pay, said the report, which was submitted to the annual session of the National People's Congress.
China's military spending remains low compared with other major powers, Jiang Enzhu, spokesman for the annual session of the NPC, said on Saturday in answer to reporters' questions at a news conference.
Last year, China's defense spending accounted for only 7.34 percent of total budgeted fiscal expenditures, even lower than military spending in the 1970s, said Guo Xinning, a researcher at the strategic institute under the University of National Defense.
The comparable figure is 17.8 percent in the United States, 11.4 percent in France and 9.25 percent in Germany.
Safeguarding China's vast territory demands advanced military equipment, Guo said.
General Wang Yufa, an NPC deputy from the People's Liberation Army, said China has adopted a defensive military strategy, and the military budget was raised to create a stable and safe environment for the country's economic development.
The defense budget increase was applauded by many of the country's Netizens, who voiced their thoughts after the news was released on Internet.
One cyber surfer wrote on the message board at www.sina.com that China should raise its military outlays to 10 percent of its total fiscal spending, as the country "stands on a weak base" of national defense.
"There's no reason for China to have a lower defense expenditure than other countries," another said.
In addition, a Netizen identified as a military man in the country's northeast said the growing defense budget is good news to his comrades in arms. The writer said almost half of his colleagues, whose wives are unemployed, have to shoulder heavy financial burdens.
"Every one of us expects an improvement in soldiers' living and working conditions," he wrote.
(Xinhua)