CHINA-SOUTH CHINA SEA
|
In a rare and revealing interview to The Asahi Shimbun, which was published on March 31, 2016, retired PLA Major General Qian Lihua, who once served as director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the National Defense Ministry and is now Vice Chairman of the China Committee within the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP), provided some insight into Chinese defense spending. Qian Lihua said that construct of artificial islands in the South China Sea for military installations "will continue in the future". He also criticized the U.S. Navy's "freedom-of-navigation operations" in the South China Sea, where its warships operate within a 12-nautical-mile radius of the artificial islands being built in the South China Sea, and said such actions "have only made the situation more complicated." He added that in case Japan's Self-Defense Forces joined those operations,"That would have a grave effect on China-Japan relations."He said since late 2015, Chinese naval frigates and destroyers equipped with anti-aircraft guns have operated in waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by Japan, but that "As a means of reducing costs, we are reusing naval ships that are no longer suited for tactical purposes. The radar and other equipment have been removed so those vessels are not equipped like naval ships." Qian Lihua called for heightened communications between officials of Japan and China so as to prevent a maritime military encounter. Major General Qian Lihua at the same time said that the actions by the U.S. Navy did not represent a pressing military threat and that Beijing had not yet placed on the agenda for discussions with the US its establishment of the Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea. had not yet been placed on Beijing's agenda for discussions.
He said since late 2015, Chinese naval frigates and destroyers equipped with anti-aircraft guns have operated in waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by Japan.
He added that increased patrols around the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia is one reason for the greater defense spending. Stating that "the Chinese military is actively engaged in humanitarian support and anti-piracy measures in international waters and will further expand its range of activities," he said the construction of a military base in Djibouti in eastern Africa that will serve as a supply depot for the Chinese military's patrol activities.
Referring to the reduced defence budget, Qian Lihua said "We are fundamentally satisfied because we will be able to maintain a growth rate that exceeds that for the gross domestic product of last year." He said the budget "is divided into about three equal parts made up of personnel expenses, activity expenses to pay for training and military exercises and expenses to purchase and repair weapons and other military equipment" and that expenditure on purchase of weapons and military equipment had taken up a greater share of defense spending in recent years. He disclosed that part of the research and development of weapons is not included in the national defense budget but covered by the state-run companies that are in charge of such matters.
|