Friday, April 14, 2006

Japan asks China for transparency on military buildup

Japan asked China to be more open about its military buildup on Friday.

Noting that China has increased military spending by about 10 percent over the last 18 years, Japan called for more transparency on the purpose of the Chinese armed forces.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has long been secretive about its development programs and has sought advanced technology elsewhere especially from Russia. China has purchased advanced Russian weapons systems like the Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets, and the S-300 air defense system.

Russian Su-27 fighters perform in China
Russian Su-27 jets perform in China's Hunan province. Reuters Photo from Yahoo News

Indigneous PRC military technologies include the Y-8 AWACS command and control aircraft and the Y-8 electronic warfare plane. They also produce their own third and fourth generation fighters like the J-11, J-10 and J-7H. The J-XX project is believed to be one of the first truly indigenous leading-edge fighter aircraft developments by China.

The extent of China's technological ascent can also be seen in its rapidly-expanding manned spaceflight program.

China exports large quantities of arms to other countries including highly-lauded battlefield systems like the TY-90 mobile air defense missiles.

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