Daily Times

BEIJING: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is likely to secure significant new funding in China’s upcoming defence budget as Beijing seeks to check US dominance of the high seas and step up its own projection of power around the globe.

China’s navy has been taking an increasingly prominent role in recent months, with a rising star admiral taking command, its first aircraft carrier sailing around self-ruled Taiwan and new Chinese warships popping up in far-flung places.

Now, with President Donald Trump promising a US shipbuilding spree and unnerving Beijing with his unpredictable approach on hot button issues, including Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, China is pushing to narrow the gap with the US Navy.

“It is an opportunity in crisis,” said a Beijing-based Asian diplomat. “China fears Trump will turn on them eventually as he’s so unpredictable and it’s getting ready.” Beijing does not give a breakdown for how much it spends on the navy, and the overall official defence spending figures it gives – $139 billion for 2016 – likely understates its investment, according to diplomats.

China unveils the defence budget for this year at next month’s annual meeting of parliament, a closely watched figure around the region and in Washington, for clues to China’s intentions. China surprised last year with its lowest increase in six years, 7.6 percent, the first single-digit rise since 2010, following a nearly unbroken two-decade run of double-digit jumps.

The Chinese navy, once generally limited to coastal operations, has developed rapidly under President Xi Jinping’s ambitious military modernisation.

It commissioned 18 ships in 2016, including missile destroyers, corvettes and guided missile frigates, according to state media.

Xu Guangyu, a retired major general in the People’s Liberation Army, said China was keenly aware of the US ability to project power at sea.

“It’s like a marathon and we’re falling behind. We need to step on the gas,” Xu said.

Trump has vowed to increase the US Navy to 350 ships from the current 290″, a move aides say is needed to counter China’s rise as a military power.