China Cuts Military Force by 200,000
AFP: China announced Jan. 9 it has demobilized 200,000 members of its military over the past three years but it remains the world’s largest with 2.3 million troops.
”As of December 31, our army has fully completed the tasks of military restructuring and reform and have cut the army by 200,000 soldiers,” the People’s Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page report.
China has been trimming its military personnel since the mid-1980s in an effort to cut costs and concentrate on improving military hardware and effectiveness in the age of high-tech warfare.
According to the report, China cut its military personnel from 4.24 million to 3.24 million in 1987, and then to 3.12 million by 1990.
A 500,000-soldier demobilization plan was announced in 1997, cutting the size of the military to 2.5 million before the latest reduction.
The People’s Liberation Army includes the navy and air force.
Despite the cut in troop numbers, China’s military budget has increased by double-digits almost every year over the past 15 years, with the defense budget increasing by 12.6 percent in 2005.
China’s 2005 official defense expenditures were 247.7 billion yuan (29.9 billion dollars), but the figure is widely seen as understated as it does not include weapons purchases or research and development.
According to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the publicized military budget is “less than half of China’s actual defense spending.”
By comparison, the U.S. defense budget was about 400 billion dollars in 2005, while Japan spent about 47 billion dollars.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have repeatedly expressed concern over China’s military build up, which has accompanied rising national wealth.
According to a study last month by the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based conservative think tank, the United States must prepare an effective strategy to face China’s rising military power.
Beijing’s rapid technological advances mean that the United States “must plan seriously” for its development of weapons of greater complexity and power, said the study.
The report, entitled “China’s New Great Leap Forward: High Technology and Military Power in the Next Half-Century,” said the U.S. government was too preoccupied with its “war on terror” and democratization of the Middle East and Central Asia.
Meanwhile, Washington is ignoring China’s emergence as a top competitor to U.S. technological leadership, it said.
”As of December 31, our army has fully completed the tasks of military restructuring and reform and have cut the army by 200,000 soldiers,” the People’s Liberation Army Daily said in a front-page report.
China has been trimming its military personnel since the mid-1980s in an effort to cut costs and concentrate on improving military hardware and effectiveness in the age of high-tech warfare.
According to the report, China cut its military personnel from 4.24 million to 3.24 million in 1987, and then to 3.12 million by 1990.
A 500,000-soldier demobilization plan was announced in 1997, cutting the size of the military to 2.5 million before the latest reduction.
The People’s Liberation Army includes the navy and air force.
Despite the cut in troop numbers, China’s military budget has increased by double-digits almost every year over the past 15 years, with the defense budget increasing by 12.6 percent in 2005.
China’s 2005 official defense expenditures were 247.7 billion yuan (29.9 billion dollars), but the figure is widely seen as understated as it does not include weapons purchases or research and development.
According to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the publicized military budget is “less than half of China’s actual defense spending.”
By comparison, the U.S. defense budget was about 400 billion dollars in 2005, while Japan spent about 47 billion dollars.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have repeatedly expressed concern over China’s military build up, which has accompanied rising national wealth.
According to a study last month by the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based conservative think tank, the United States must prepare an effective strategy to face China’s rising military power.
Beijing’s rapid technological advances mean that the United States “must plan seriously” for its development of weapons of greater complexity and power, said the study.
The report, entitled “China’s New Great Leap Forward: High Technology and Military Power in the Next Half-Century,” said the U.S. government was too preoccupied with its “war on terror” and democratization of the Middle East and Central Asia.
Meanwhile, Washington is ignoring China’s emergence as a top competitor to U.S. technological leadership, it said.
posted by Marko at 1/10/2006 12:43:00 AM
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