BEIJING, March 4 - China said on Wednesday its official military budget will grow to 480.6 billion yuan ($70.24 billion) in 2009, a "modest" 14.9 percent rise on last year.
Parliamentary spokesman Li Zhaoxing said the additional spending was to maintain "sovereignty and integrity of Chinese territory and would not threaten any country".
He said the defence share of the total budget was lower than in 2008 at 6.3 percent. Defence accounted for 1.4 percent of gross domestic product.
"The increased part of the budget is mainly used to raise salaries for soldiers as well as spending on military 'informatisation', counter-terrorism and internal security," Li told reporters.
In 2008, China said it would spend 418 billion yuan on defence, up 17.6 percent on 2007.
The U.S. budget for fiscal 2009, by comparison, is $515 billion, a 7.5 percent rise on the previous year. That number does not include multi-billion dollar outlays for Iraq and Afghanistan and some spending on nuclear weapons.
Many foreign analysts believe China's real military outlays are much more than the official budget, but Li denied there were any hidden outlays.
Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by the mainland, as well as nearby nations worry Beijing's plans to modernise its military lack openness and could stoke conflict. ($1=6.842 Yuan) (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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