Military spending

During their talks, Liang also mentioned China's intention to build an aircraft carrier, Kyodo quoted an anonymous Japanese government official as saying.

Liang told Hamada that China is the only major nation in the world that has no aircraft carriers, in a clear sign for the first time by a defense minister that China will build an aircraft carrier in the future, according to the report.

"China has a formidable task of protecting its vast sea territory," said Liang.

Gao at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences strongly supported the proposal. He explained that with an increasing economic clout, a country as big as China is entitled to develop carriers to protect its interests.

"The accusation that China has a huge military budget is totally groundless. The amount is small relative to the size of its population. I hope all countries can understand China's desire to improve its defense system," he said.

China's defense budget for 2009 is 480.7 billion yuan ($70.2 billion), accounting for 1.4 per cent of China's gross domestic product, announced parliamentary spokesman Li Zhaoxing on March 4. That compared to 4.0 percent for the United States and 2.0 percent for Britain and France.

He pointed out that Japan recently commissioned its largest helicopter-carrying destroyer similar in design to a small aircraft carrier. The 197-m long, 13,950-ton Hyuga can carry 11 anti-submarine patrol helicopters on its deck.

"Obviously it is targeted at China," said Gao, noting that only China has submarines in the region.

Under Japan's post-war pacifist constitution, it is banned from using or threatening force in international disputes. However, the Japanese Self Defence Forces (SDF) is one of the best-funded armies in the world.

Japan's defense spending for the fiscal year of 2009 starting in April is 4,774.1 billion yen ($49.8 billion), or $383.1 per capita, compared with $54 per capita for China, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2009)