West's pressure no sway on China's defense budget

China will announce this year's defense budget at the upcoming annual two sessions - the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

We hope that the Chinese government will maintain an annual double-digit percentage increase regardless of the pressure from the West.

China's defense budget grew by 12.7 percent in 2011 after falling to 7.5 percent in 2010. The criticism of Western media on China's defense budget was more or less alleviated then.

But when the increase came to a double-digit percentage last year, the West renewed its criticism. China should avoid big fluctuations of its defense budget increase so public can keep stable expectation of it.

This year China will slow its economic growth, but the effective part of the economy will not contract. Government revenue will continue to increase. It has sufficient resources to support the military budget increase.

Both China and the West have become used to criticizing China for its rapid increase in military spending. The scale of the harm to China's security from these criticisms is far lower than the defense industry profits brought about by the increase.

We should be able to see that as China gradually rises, the international vigilance against China has reached its apogee.

Without a formidable national defense, those irrational sentiments against China would worsen. Some might even turn into action.

As the world's foremost military power, the US has made China the focus of its strategic defense. Its vigilance is not that inscrutable.

But history proves that the US is prone to hasty military actions. When the US is confident of winning, it tends to use its military pressure in direct fashion.

As China has stepped into the frontline of international political confrontations, it must speed up its national defense power.

The Taiwan question has not been solved. Disputes around China's neighboring islands may escalate. The involvement of great powers will add intensity to the Asia-Pacific situation. Right now, China cannot rely on diplomacy for defense.

If external elements view China as a weak country, it will lead to chaos. The relationship between China and the world should improve by facing this reality. This is one of the bases for long-term stability in the Asia-Pacific.

China should remain composed in dealing with questions raised from its military spending. The outside world should try to understand the necessity of this increase, but if not, they will get used to it.

China embraces peace. It has nothing to do with how much it spends on its military.

We look forward to a moderate and yet sufficient military spending increase this year.