China has defended a recent increase in its 2018 defense budget, saying the hike is reasonable compared to the United States.
Chinese state media said on Tuesday that the 8.1-percent rise in the country’s defense budget was neither a huge percentage of the whole budget nor a sharp increase compared to the 2016 or 2017 defense budgets.
China on Monday unveiled an 8.1 percent rise in defense spending at the opening of parliament, fuelling an ambitious military modernisation programme and making its neighbours, particularly Japan and self-ruled Taiwan, nervous.
The 2018 defense budget will be 1.11 trillion yuan ($175 billion).
In an editorial, the official China Daily said the figure had prompted "finger-pointing from the usual suspects."
"if calculated in per capita terms, China's military lags well behind other major countries," it added.
China insists its military spending is transparent and that it poses a threat to nobody, simply needing to update old equipment and defend its legitimate interests, even as it is increasingly assertive over disputes in the East and South China Seas and on self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims.
In the East and South China Seas, China is simply trying to stand up for itself, the China Daily said.
