China military is transparent, no threat: premier

CANBERRA (Reuters) – China’s military is transparent and
not a threat, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday after
the United States and Japan criticized the Asia giant for not
being open enough about a build-up of its defense forces.

China’s 2.3-million-strong People’s Liberation Army is the
world’s largest standing force and Beijing has said its
official defense budget is set to rise 14.7 percent to 283.8
billion yuan ($35 billion) in 2006.

During a visit to Australia on Monday, Wen said China had
reduced its military by 1.7 million over the past two decades,
and its military spending as a share of the gross domestic
product and the government budget was fairly low by
international standards.

“The modest increase in Chinese military expenditure is
mainly for improving the welfare of its servicemen,
strengthening its defense capabilities and safeguarding
national reunification,” Wen told a lunch meeting in Canberra.

“Thus China will not pose a threat to anyone. China’s
defense policy is transparent,” he said. U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso
both recently expressed concern about China’s military build-up
and urged Beijing to be more transparent.