The Senkaku Islands and Japan
161Development of the PRC’s naval capability
In contrast to Japan, which had cut its military spending in the recent
decades since the end of the Cold war, the military spending of PRC has
been continually increasing more than 10% a year for 25 years. China’s
official military budget overtook Japan’s in 2007 and is currently 30 times
bigger than 25 years ago. Comparing the official military spending of
Japan and the PRC in 2013, China’s military spending is about 115.7
billion USD (+10.7% year-on-year, 1.27% of GDP) whereas Japan’s is
nearly 47.8 billion USD (+0.9% y/y, 0.96% of GDP). Additionally, it is
often pointed out that the actual military spending of the PRC might be
much bigger than its official one. For example, SIPRI estimates that the
actual level of China’s military expenditure would be 1.5 times bigger
than its official figure.
According to the statistical estimation by Akiji Yoshida, a former
Major General of Japan’s Grand Self Defense Force, China is considered
to gradually increase its spending for Navy. For example, the share of the
naval equipment purchase budget out of the total equipment budget
increased from 20.7% (7.35 billion USD) in 2010 to 22.4% (8.36 billion
USD) in 2012 and is expected to reach 24.3% (9.90 billion USD) in 2014,
while almost half of the equipment budget has been spent on the Army in
recent years^3.
World media highlighted the commission of the first Chinese aircraft
carrier, CV16 Liaoning, which was restored from the former Soviet
Union’s uncompleted aircraft carrier Varyag in September 2012 as a
symbol of a new era of PLAN. Since then, touch-and-go trainings with the
carrier-capable J-15 fighters were conducted, and landing tests with
arresting wire were completed successfully in November 2012. The final
purposes of the Liaoning mission are reported for training and research but
experts expect that the PRC will construct two or three more new aircraft
carriers like Liaoning.
In 2012, the PRC started building four new LUYANG III class (Type
052D) guided missile destroyers, which is an improved version of
LUYANG II class (Type 052C) “Chinese Aegis,” and construction of
another six is planned. The destroyers are expected to be commissioned
for forming aircraft carrier battle groups (CVBG). The PRC is also
constructing JIANKAI II class (Type 054A) guided missile frigates as a
workhorse of PLAN at a rapid rate, and the total commissioned number of
frigates is expected to be more than 20.
(^3) Eguchi, Yoshida and Asano, Ballooning Chinese Military Forces, 59.