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  China's defense budget to exceed 280b yuan   (Xinhua)  Updated: 2006-03-05 11:12  
 China's defense budget for 2006 will rise 14.7 percent 
to 280.729 billion yuan (US$35 billion), said a budget report distributed in 
Beijing Sunday.   
 
  The rise marks an increase of 
36.025 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion) from that of last year.   
  The increase of the budget is to strengthen the army's 
capability to fight against a defensive war and to respond to emergencies, and 
to raise soldiers' pay, said the report submitted to the Fourth Session of the 
Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) , China's top legislature.   
 
 
 
 China's military spending remains at a low level compared 
with some other countries, such as the United States, Britain, Japan and France, 
said Jiang Enzhu, spokesman for the annual session of the NPC, on Saturday, when 
answering questions from reporters at the press conference.   
 
 
  The annual full session of the Chinese parliament opened in 
Beijing at 9:00 a.m. Sunday, with the presence of more than 2,900 deputies from 
all over the country.   
 
  China's vast territory 
demands the safeguard of advanced military equipment, which, however, needs 
great upgrade and reinforcement at present, said Guo Xinning, a researcher with 
the strategic institute under the University of National Defense.   
 
 
 
 Compared with 17.8 percent of the United States, 11.4 
percent of France and 9.25 percent of Germany, China's defense budget in 2005 
accounted for only 7.34 percent of the budgeted fiscal expenditure, even lower 
than that in the 1970s, Guo said.   
 
 
  "The increase in 
military budget is actually an effort to narrow the gap," the expert said. 
  
  The defense budget rise was applauded by the 
country's netizens, who voiced their ideas after the news was released on 
Internet.   
 
  An online critic commented on the message 
board of www.sina.com that China should raise its defense budget to 10 percent 
of its whole fiscal budget, 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 critic said. 
Also on sina.com's message board, a netizen self 
identified as a military man in the country's northeast said defense budget rise 
is surely good news to his fellow army men. The netizen said almost half of his 
fellows, whose wives are unemployed, have to shoulder the economic burden of the 
family themselves.   
 
 
 
  "Every one of us expects for the 
improvement of army men's living and working conditions," the netizen said. 
  
  General Wang Yufa, an NPC deputy from the People's 
Liberation Army, said China adopts a defensive military strategy, and the 
defense budget was raised to create a stable and safe environment for the 
country's economic development.  
  
  
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