BEIJING, July 25 Kyodo China onw...

BEIJING, July 25 Kyodo

China onward Thursday blasted a Pentagon report's estimation that China's actual military spending is more than three times its stated amount of $20 billion as being totally ''groundless''

Refuting estimates in the report released July 12 that China's military spending this year is closer to $65 billion, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan was quot at the official Xinhua News Agency as saying China's defense spending is strictly within the government's announced budget

Declaring that economic progres remains China's priority, Kong said China has raised its defense spending in an ''appropriate'' fashion to modernize its military forces and to raise the living standards of its service personnel

China's military spending is a great deal less than other nations, whether measured through capita, per serviceperson, as a proportion of gros domestic consequence (GDP) or as state fiscal expenditure, he said.

The Pentagon report, a yearly evaluation of China's military might that was submitted to Congres indicated China's annual military spending could increase three- to four-fold on 2020.

It stated China is rapidly modernizing its military with the aim of taking across Taiwan, considered by Beijing as a renegade province that should be reunited eventually, with force if necessary.

The deadliest of China's improved capabilities cited in the report are the 350 short-range ballistic missiles aimed across the Taiwan Straits, which are stated to be increasing at 50 per year.

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