Despite the economic downturn affecting much of China's export —oriented economy, there's an unquestionable upturn in its military spending according to a new Pentagon report on Beijing's military developments. And while decadelong military spending trends continue, there's a redefinition of Beijing's military mission from its traditional standoff with rival Taiwan to a more global posture stretching from the South China Sea to the shores of Somalia.
Though the People's Republic of China's military spending is roughly double that of a decade ago, the facts emerge that the mainland's military forces are focusing not on the old doctrine of a huge but unwieldy people's/peasant army, but on lean and mean troop levels, upgrades to newer generation aircraft and naval vessels, and sophisticated electronic, computer, and cyber warfare techniques. Moreover, there's a distinct lack of transparency in the amounts for military spending on specific programs which are fueled by Beijing's massive foreign exchange reserves, by a budding nationalism, and its vision to be a great power.
