China wants a stronger navy and has increased its naval budget. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy has received a substantial budget increase as U.S. military exercises are reported to begin soon.
China has already begun sending ships to the South China Sea and even sent an aircraft carrier around the Taiwan strait. There has been news of intensified military base development in the islands of the South China Sea.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he plans to build more ships as well and White House representatives have continuously warned China about its movements on the disputed shoal.
A diplomat commented, "It's opportunity in crisis. China fears Trump will turn on them eventually as he's so unpredictable and it's getting ready."
The expert also said that since the Chinese navy does not disclose its naval expenditures, it is most probable that the figures revealed by state media might be smaller than the actual amount.
Last year, state media said that China spent 954 billion yuan in total for naval activities. The increase in the budget was only 7.6 percent.
Richard Bitzinger, a Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Military Transformations Program at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said, "Certainly, the PLA Navy has really been the beneficiary of a lot of this new spending in the past 15 years.”
He added, "We don't how much they spend on the navy, but simply extrapolating from the quantity and the quality of things that are coming out of their shipyards, it's pretty amazing."
China’s naval growth is still relentless. According to a U.S Congressional report, China intends to build 351 ships by 2020.
China also knows that much is still to be done to be on par with the strength of the American navy.
"It's like a marathon and we're falling behind. We need to step on the gas," said Xu Guangyu, a retired major-general in the People's Liberation Army now a senior adviser to the government-run China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.
