China's Defense Budget Back to Single-Digit Growth

China announced its lowest defense budget increase in six years on Saturday.

According to a budget report to the national legislature annual session, the government plans to raise the 2016 defense budget by 7.6 percent to 954 billion yuan ($146 billion), reports news agency Xinhua.

The increase last year was 10.1 percent, and it followed a nearly unbroken two-decade run of double-digit budget increases.

China is the second largest defense spender, behind the U.S. which spends more on military than the next eight nations combined.

The U.S. Defense Department budget for 2016 is $573 billion, about four times that of China.

China's has made double-digit increases since 2011, and some analysts believe this year’s decreased rate is largely a response to the nation’s slowed economic growth.

China’s economic growth rate was 6.9 percent year on year in 2015, the slowest in a quarter of a century, reports Xinhua, weighed down by a property market downturn, falling trade and weak manufacturing.

Though recent rises in defense budgets surpassed GDP growth, China's military expenditure in 2015 accounted for 1.33 percent of GDP, well below the world's average of 2.6 percent.

The per capita military spending is even less, representing only about 5.6 percent that of the U.S., 11 percent that of Britain and 25 percent that of Japan, reports Xinhua.

"One simple reason for the lower increase is that double-digit growth is now harder to sustain," said Bonji Obara of the Tokyo Foundation think-tank and a former military attaché at Japan's embassy in Beijing.

"But another reason is that China's anti-corruption campaign means less money is being siphoned off and spending has become more efficient," he added, referring to President Xi Jinping's vigorous efforts to root out graft.

The defense budget had been widely expected in military and diplomatic circles to log another double-digit increase.

Fu Ying, spokeswoman for China's parliament, said the budget was based on national defense needs, the state of China's economy and the performance of its fiscal revenues.

China's official Xinhua news agency said the slower pace of the increase reflected both economic realities and Beijing's determination to pursue peace, but noted it still face complex security threats, including from terrorism, and would not let down its guard.

"There are many reasons for China not to be able to sleep without worries," it said in a commentary.

China has been repeatedly criticized for a lack of openness in its defense spending and its intentions.

"China needs to be transparent and explain its military spending to the international community," Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said in Tokyo ahead of Fu's budget announcement.

"It's crucial that China does not upset the regional balance and that it firmly contributes to international stability."

James Curran of the University of Sydney said this year's defense numbers - which still represent a hefty rise - would add to anxiety among U.S. allies and Washington about Xi's intentions.

"There are provocative actions in the South China Sea, and this announcement on top of that is only going to increase concerns about what this means for the region and intensify the idea of a regional arms race."

Xi is seeking to drag the People's Liberation Army into the modern age, cutting 300,000 jobs and revamping its Cold War-era command structure.

However, the reforms have run into opposition from soldiers and officers worried about job security.

Beijing is also feeling public pressure to show it can protect its claims to the South China Sea after the United States began conducting "freedom of navigation" operations near islands where China has been carrying out controversial reclamation work and stationing advanced weapons.

Fu said the United States was militarizing the South China Sea with constant deployments of ships and aircraft.

"Our expansion and building of islands and reefs in the South China Sea is really necessary, and the Chinese people all support it," she said.

If the United States continues to boost its military presence in the region, China will have to build more islands and deploy more weapons, the influential state-run Global Times said in an editorial.

"If two nuclear powerhouses engage in a competition to test each other's willpower, the whole world will face the repercussions," it said.

While Beijing keeps secret the details of its military spending, experts have said additional funding would probably go towards beefing up the navy with anti-submarine ships and developing aircraft carriers beyond a sole vessel in operation.

China last year confirmed it was building its second carrier.