MolliG
03-06-2004, 09:08 AM
BBC News (news.bbc.co.uk)
China hikes spending on military
China has announced another large increase in its military spending.
The increase of nearly 12% - higher than that of 2003 - will see an extra $2.6bn allocated to defence, officially raising the budget to more than $25bn.
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Beijing says analysts believe the real figure is at least double that.
The announcement comes as Taiwan prepares to hold a referendum this month calling on China to end its military intimidation of the island.
The BBC's Caroline Gluck in Taipei says the timing is likely to bolster the position of President Chen, who faces presidential elections on 20 March.
Mr Chen said on Saturday that, if re-elected, he hoped to cut the size of the island's armed forces by 30% - but he also stressed that "national security is the most important thing".
Other countries in the region are also showing signs of alarm, with Japan in particular voicing disquiet...
The rest can be found here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3538343.stm).
China hikes spending on military
China has announced another large increase in its military spending.
The increase of nearly 12% - higher than that of 2003 - will see an extra $2.6bn allocated to defence, officially raising the budget to more than $25bn.
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Beijing says analysts believe the real figure is at least double that.
The announcement comes as Taiwan prepares to hold a referendum this month calling on China to end its military intimidation of the island.
The BBC's Caroline Gluck in Taipei says the timing is likely to bolster the position of President Chen, who faces presidential elections on 20 March.
Mr Chen said on Saturday that, if re-elected, he hoped to cut the size of the island's armed forces by 30% - but he also stressed that "national security is the most important thing".
Other countries in the region are also showing signs of alarm, with Japan in particular voicing disquiet...
The rest can be found here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3538343.stm).