China is not being as open as U.S. officials would like it to e about its continued advancements in weaponry such as jet fighters and aircraft carriers, according to the Pentagon.
“What concerns me is the extent to which China’s military modernization occurs in the absence in the type of openness and transparency that others are certainly asking of China,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia David Helvey told reporters. He cited further concerns about “the potential implications and consequences that that lack of transparency (has on) the security calculations of others in the region.”
He was unveiling the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress on China’s military buildup, the 83-page “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2013.” It notes that Beijing announced in March a 10.7 percent increase in its annual military budget, to $114 billion–though U.S. officials have noted China’s actual defense spending may be different than it reports.
“Analysis of data from 2003 through 2012 indicates China’s officially disclosed military budget grew at an average of 9.7 percent per year in inflation-adjusted terms over the period,” the new Pentagon report says. “China has the fiscal strength and political will to support defense spending growth at comparable levels, despite lowering its economic growth forecast in 2012 to 7.5 percent from 8 percent in 2011. Continued increases will support PLA modernization efforts and facilitate China’s move toward a more professional force.”
The report cites the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) expanding set of roles and missions, and its work to improve capabilities in advanced fighter aircraft and “limited regional power projection” with the commissioning of China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. It further cites the Chinese military’s enhancements in nuclear deterrence, long-range conventional strike, integrated air defenses, undersea warfare, improved command and control, and “more sophisticated training and exercises across China’s air, naval, and land forces.” The Pentagon notes the Chinese government’s sustained investment in 2012 in a variety of additional capabilities: advanced short-and-medium-range conventional ballistic missiles, land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles, counter-space weapons, and military cyberspace capabilities “that appear designed to enable anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) missions.”
Helvey noted to reporters how China “continues to emphasize and prioritize building modern and more-capable fighter platforms.” He said he believes the Chinese J-11 fighter is “a pretty capable third-generation platform.” The Pentagon will monitor China’s development of the J-20 and the potential J-31 fighter jets as well, he said.
He said China also is “investing heavily in a robust program for undersea warfare, developing submarines that are both conventional, diesel and electric powered, independent-propulsion, and nuclear-powered attack submarines.”
Helvey said Pentagon officials have seen reports of China marketing unmanned aerial vehicles at air shows, and thus will “have to continue monitoring very carefully.”
He told reporters he was not surprised by any Chinese capabilities arriving sooner than expected.
“We’ve been monitoring (these) issues very carefully and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of reporting what we’ve seen as we see it,” he said.