Roland San Juan

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

These 5 Countries Should Watch Out For China's Increased Military Budget

These 5 Countries Should Watch Out For China's Increased Military Budget










    Ralph Jennings ,  
    Contributor
    I cover under-reported stories from Taiwan and Asia.
    Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
    Tweet This
    • China already has the world’s third most powerful military after the United States and Russia,
    China announced over the weekend it would raise the defense budget 7%, a bump that the official media describe as modest compared to Western European and U.S. military spending. This year’s increase fails the 7.6% growth of 2016 and ranks as the lowest in a decade. The point is to defend Chinese sovereignty, rights and interests, defense insiders told Xinhua News Agency.
    But 7% is still an increase. China already has the world’s third most powerful military after the United States and Russia, according to the database GlobalFirePower.com. The country is unlikely to start a war, but that’s not what armed forces are necessarily for. The country can use its might instead as a deterrent in negotiations or as a disincentive for other countries considering actions that China opposes.
    “China’s military is far larger than any other country in the region,” says Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington. "Even if the budget increases at 7%, slightly less than last year, it is much higher than any other government in the region. Almost all of China's neighbors are uneasy about China's growing military power, especially those that have territorial disputes, either over land or water.”
    A military delegate is mobbed by the media as he arrives at the Great Hall of the People ahead of the opening of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 5, 2017. (NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)
    These five countries should worry most about the increase over last year’s $138 billion Chinese defense budget:
    1. Japan: The country with East Asia’s most powerful military after China may need to pace the budget increase so it can monitor Chinese vessels and planes in the sea between them. China still resents Japan for its World War II-era invasion. Now they dispute sovereignty over the eight uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the shared East China Sea. Japan controls the islets now. China sends ships and plans that way to remind Japan it’s not the only claimant. Last week China flew 13 aircraft, including fighters and bombers, near Okinawa, prompting Japan to scramble its own fighters. That was just the latest such exchange. If China expands its navy and air force for more operations in the sea, Japan may need to boost its own.
    2. Vietnam: China and Vietnam sort of reached frenemy status over the past half year, pausing deep historical distrust over land and maritime sovereignty to focus on economic matters. But the country that fought a border war in the 1970s and has clashed with China at sea multiple times since then can’t assume business deals will settle old scores. Vietnam maintains the ninth strongest armed forces in Asia today in part to hold its South China Sea maritime claims against any moves by China. It’s shopping around aggressively for new arms, says Carl Thayer, Vietnam scholar and emeritus professor of politics at The University of New South Wales in Australia. To name just two examples, it finished buying six Russian-made submarines in September, the same month Japan offered Vietnam a soft loan for six new coast guard patrol boats.
    3. The Philippines: The Philippines started talking with China in October when President Rodrigo Duterte visited Beijing. There’s talk of cooperation in a tract of the South China Sea that both claim. The Philippines previously felt violated enough to take China to a world arbitration court, and it won a ruling in July. Now Duterte, after a run of anti-American bluster, shows signs of getting along with new U.S. President Donald Trump and sustaining military cooperation enshrined by hard-set deals since 1951. If Duterte aggressively steps up protection of the maritime claim contested by China, he could turn to the powerful American military aid that his predecessors have enjoyed. But his country -- and Washington -- would need more of it to counter stronger Chinese forces or to be taken seriously if Manila and Beijing meet again for talks.
    4. India. China and India, the second biggest Asian country by population, contest two pieces of land along their rugged land border. One is in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, and the other Arunachal Pradesh, is under Indian control. Plenty of Indian troops are stationed near both, part of a military that ranks fourth strongest in the world. If China spends part of its 7% increase on border defense, India would need to follow up at its end to hold the one region and make a case for the other either on the ground or in bargaining rooms.
    5. Taiwan. Taiwan is used to being the target of the People’s Liberation Army. China is believed to be aiming missiles at the island that’s about 160 km (99 miles) away and the two have at least half expected to fight since the 1940s. That’s when the Nationalists lost a civil war to China’s Communists and rebased in Taiwan. Taiwan has been self-ruled since then but China says the two fall under its own flag. China never renounced the use of military force to make the two sides unify. In December and January China sailed its aircraft carrier around Taiwan, naturally putting the Taiwan defense ministry on high alert. If the Chinese budget increase swings its way again, Taiwan might feel more pressure to boost its own military. Taiwan needs to keep strong as well in case the two sides sit down for talks again as they did from 2008 to 2015, a Western diplomat once said.
    China still might be serious about peace or at least not challenging anyone else with the budget increase. Part of the bigger budget might help 300,000 troops transition from army to civilian life, if let go as planned in 2015, and raise living standards of those who remain in the service, says William Sharp, Honolulu-based author of Random Views of Asia from the Mid-Pacific. “Whether a country should be worried or not depends in part on how China plans to spend the 7% increase,” he says.
    Posted by --------------------------------------- at 6:14 PM

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Newer Post Older Post Home
    Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

    About Me

    ---------------------------------------
    ROLAND SAN JUAN was a researcher, management consultant, inventor, a part time radio broadcaster and a publishing director. He died last November 25, 2008 after suffering a stroke. His staff will continue his unfinished work to inform the world of the untold truths. Please read Erick San Juan's articles at: ericksanjuan.blogspot.com This blog is dedicated to the late Max Soliven, a FILIPINO PATRIOT. DISCLAIMER - We do not own or claim any rights to the articles presented in this blog. They are for information and reference only for whatever it's worth. They are copyrighted to their rightful owners. ************************************ Please listen in to Erick San Juan's daily radio program which is aired through DWSS 1494khz AM @ 5:30pm, Mondays through Fridays, R.P. time, with broadcast title, “WHISTLEBLOWER” the broadcast tackle current issues, breaking news, commentaries and analyses of various events of political and social significance. *************************************** LIVE STREAMING http://www.dwss-am1494khz.blogspot.com
    View my complete profile

    Blog Archive

    • ►  2018 (6)
      • ►  April (4)
      • ►  February (2)
    • ▼  2017 (890)
      • ►  December (3)
      • ►  November (11)
      • ►  October (6)
      • ►  September (85)
      • ►  August (77)
      • ►  July (99)
      • ►  June (72)
      • ►  May (94)
      • ►  April (65)
      • ▼  March (111)
        • Philippines’ Duterte seeks alliance with China but...
        • The Truth About Vaccines - Free Online Event
        • Chomsky: Trump May Stage False-Flag Terrorist Atta...
        • Brexit: It’s Now Reality
        • Brexit’s Impending Impact: Assessing ASEAN’s Exposure
        • London March 2017: ISIS “Weaponisation of Everyday...
        • How to defend Panatag Shoal
        • Are you for the PHILIPPINES or CHINA? Re: How Abou...
        • Profiting from Government Chaos
        • INVEST FOR 50% LESS (OR EVEN FOR FREE!)
        • Rich Chinese Race to Apply for a U.S. Golden Visa
        • NY Times wants accountability for Duterte: 'Hit PH...
        • Profiting from Government Chaos
        • Will Washington Risk World War III to Block an Eme...
        • Where the Fed Goes, Other Central Banks May Not Fo...
        • Vietnam protests Chinese cruise ships in South Chi...
        • Ides of March 2017 – Fireworks or Dud?
        • X Marks The Spot - Two Solar Eclipses Will Mark Gi...
        • The Deepest State
        • Trump's First War? 'All Options Are On The Table' ...
        • Behold A Black Horse - UN Announces Worst Food Cri...
        • Jim Willie Issues ALERT: We’re AT THE DOOR of the ...
        • NSA Director: We Have No Evidence Russia Changed V...
        • Feeding Asia: How Should the Region Respond to Pro...
        • 5 Reasons Billionaire David Rockefeller Won’t Be M...
        • Julian Assange: Hillary Clinton, U.S. Intelligence...
        • Trump's Asia Policy, Two Months On
        • Indonesia-Australia Ties: Joint Patrols in the Sou...
        • Why Does Terrorism Spare Switzerland?
        • Can Oil Fall to $5 a Barrel?
        • Frightening Shifts in European Politics Keeps Disa...
        • While Media Focuses On Russia, Govt’s Own Data Sho...
        • Shocking News: China Matters More than NATO
        • X Marks The Spot - Two Solar Eclipses Will Mark Gi...
        • Where the Fed Goes, Other Central Banks May Not Fo...
        • Vietnam protests Chinese cruise ships in South Chi...
        • Ides of March 2017 – Fireworks or Dud?
        • North Korea Presents Only Bad Options
        • Why aren’t Australia and Vietnam strategic partners?
        • SEDITION, ESPIONAGE AND WIRETAPPING OF PRESIDENT T...
        • What Was Revealed During Enhanced Interrogation At...
        • Fluorides, the atomic bomb, and fake news
        • Paul: McCain Makes ‘Strong Case For Term Limits’ —...
        • AstronomyStrange signals from the sky may be signs...
        • Trump’s One Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Boondog...
        • Are Collapsing Pensions "About To Bring Hell To Am...
        • FOMC expected to raise rates through 2018!
        • More Evidence that McMaster Shares Obama’s Views o...
        • Now Is STILL the Time To Buy China
        • Trump’s Disastrous Pick for National Intelligence ...
        • Obama IRS rushed like a bat out of Hell to give Sa...
        • China’s Pledge to Restore Blue Skies
        • Opioid Deaths: Another Drug War Failure
        • Global Debt Bomb Ready To Explode - $21,714 For Ev...
        • Russia's 2018 Presidential Election
        • China and a Philippine Foreign Secretary’s Ouster
        • France as a Northern and Southern European Power
        • Social Media and “Fake News”: Impact on Social Coh...
        • The French Election Could Be the End of the Euro
        • The American Media Hide From The Truth — Paul Crai...
        • Kellyanne Conway alludes to even wider surveillanc...
        • Global Leaders Rattle Their Sabers As World Tensio...
        • Jim Willie Makes SHOCKING Claim: JPM’s Silver Is C...
        • These 5 Countries Should Watch Out For China's Inc...
        • China’s Defence Spending: Settling in for Slow Gro...
        • Friedman's Weekly: The Deep State
        • Open Letter to the People of Greece: You Are Being...
        • Global Leaders Rattle Their Sabers As World Tensio...
        • U.S. Special Forces Preparing To Topple N. Korea’s...
        • America's Longest War
        • 500 years ago, China destroyed its world-dominatin...
        • Satanist Katy Perry wants to buy a convent
        • China Warns of Nuclear First Strike in Response to...
        • Lord Jacob Rothschild: The Financial World Order N...
        • How Soros Money Is Corrupting Politics in This Sma...
        • The Artificial Womb Is Born: Welcome To The ‘WORLD...
        • Total Screen: How Baudrillard Anticipated Trump
        • March 15: Another Debt Ceiling War Is Coming
        • Every 'Conspiracy Theorist' In America Has Just Be...
        • Let Me Tell You Which Side I’m On
        • 10 Surprising Uses for Cucumbers
        • Vault 7: CIA Hacking Tools Revealed
        • WikiLeaks says it has exposed the CIA's hacking op...
        • The Beltway Conspiracy to Break Trump
        • Vault 7 bombshell just vindicated every conspiracy...
        • Conspiracy Confirmed: Secret Docs Reveal Gov’t Cov...
        • America: A House Divided
        • Economic Collapse - Lessons From Latin America
        • North Korea Intensifying War Cycles
        • Clousseau is back on the case
        • Disturbing Images Reveal What Cities Will Look Lik...
        • These 5 Countries Should Watch Out For China's Inc...
        • Trump Wiretapping Claim Reminds Us We Are All Bein...
        • Is Something Strange Happening Inside The Earth?
        • How Soros Money Is Corrupting Politics in This Sma...
        • Why China’s optimists are wrong
        • Trump’s Secret Wall Street Plan
        • China plans to cut 1.8 million coal and steel jobs
        • China Military Setting Up Shop Just A Few Miles Fr...
        • Megabank Caught Laundering For Terrorists And Drug...
      • ►  February (143)
      • ►  January (124)
    • ►  2016 (1255)
      • ►  December (66)
      • ►  November (119)
      • ►  October (91)
      • ►  September (114)
      • ►  August (137)
      • ►  July (115)
      • ►  June (131)
      • ►  May (113)
      • ►  April (93)
      • ►  March (89)
      • ►  February (107)
      • ►  January (80)
    • ►  2015 (1367)
      • ►  December (84)
      • ►  November (130)
      • ►  October (123)
      • ►  September (82)
      • ►  August (118)
      • ►  July (103)
      • ►  June (163)
      • ►  May (129)
      • ►  April (131)
      • ►  March (118)
      • ►  February (90)
      • ►  January (96)
    • ►  2014 (1417)
      • ►  December (79)
      • ►  November (103)
      • ►  October (164)
      • ►  September (166)
      • ►  August (164)
      • ►  July (122)
      • ►  June (124)
      • ►  May (79)
      • ►  April (96)
      • ►  March (120)
      • ►  February (125)
      • ►  January (75)
    • ►  2013 (921)
      • ►  December (76)
      • ►  November (69)
      • ►  October (86)
      • ►  September (82)
      • ►  August (76)
      • ►  July (60)
      • ►  June (58)
      • ►  May (86)
      • ►  April (102)
      • ►  March (50)
      • ►  February (90)
      • ►  January (86)
    • ►  2012 (596)
      • ►  December (53)
      • ►  November (50)
      • ►  October (61)
      • ►  September (67)
      • ►  August (75)
      • ►  July (46)
      • ►  June (59)
      • ►  May (34)
      • ►  April (36)
      • ►  March (40)
      • ►  February (44)
      • ►  January (31)
    • ►  2011 (524)
      • ►  December (33)
      • ►  November (48)
      • ►  October (39)
      • ►  September (42)
      • ►  August (41)
      • ►  July (45)
      • ►  June (40)
      • ►  May (36)
      • ►  April (34)
      • ►  March (71)
      • ►  February (41)
      • ►  January (54)
    • ►  2010 (461)
      • ►  December (46)
      • ►  November (35)
      • ►  October (26)
      • ►  September (46)
      • ►  August (39)
      • ►  July (24)
      • ►  June (39)
      • ►  May (47)
      • ►  April (37)
      • ►  March (31)
      • ►  February (34)
      • ►  January (57)
    • ►  2009 (885)
      • ►  December (55)
      • ►  November (60)
      • ►  October (92)
      • ►  September (70)
      • ►  August (70)
      • ►  July (76)
      • ►  June (76)
      • ►  May (76)
      • ►  April (80)
      • ►  March (65)
      • ►  February (68)
      • ►  January (97)
    • ►  2008 (464)
      • ►  December (39)
      • ►  November (48)
      • ►  October (58)
      • ►  September (55)
      • ►  August (56)
      • ►  July (60)
      • ►  June (44)
      • ►  May (36)
      • ►  April (23)
      • ►  March (14)
      • ►  February (12)
      • ►  January (19)
    • ►  2007 (31)
      • ►  December (6)
      • ►  November (2)
      • ►  October (2)
      • ►  September (1)
      • ►  August (20)

    ------------------------->

    free website hit counters
    Powered by web statistics counter program.