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China military budget tops $100bn

China first aircraft carrier began sea trials in 2011

China's official defence spending will rise by 11.2% in 2012, pushing it above $100bn (£65bn) for the first time, the government has announced.

Beijing's defence budget has risen each year for two decades to become the world's second-biggest, behind the US.

It is developing an aircraft carrier, a stealth fighter jet, and missiles that can shoot down satellites.

The US promised to bolster its presence in the region last year, in a move seen as countering China's dominance.

Washington, which spends about $740bn on defence each year, already has bases housing thousands of American troops across the region.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says Chinese officials remain wary about growing American influence in the region, and believe Washington wants to encircle China.

'Peaceful development' China's emerging military might has especially worried its near neighbours.

China has long-running territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan, and has also positioned hundreds of missiles for a potential attack on Taiwan, which it views as part of its territory.

Announcing the new budget, Li Zhaoxing, an official with China's parliament, sought to calm concerns over the spending programme.

"China is committed to the path of peaceful development and follows a national defence policy that is defensive in nature," he said.

"China has 1.3 billion people, a large territory and long coastline, but our defence spending is relatively low compared with other major countries."

As a proportion of its GDP, China's official military budget is far lower than either the US or the UK.

But foreign experts have estimated that Beijing's actual military spending could be as much as double the official budget.

During 2011, China carried out its first test flight of a stealth fighter jet, and the first sea trial of its aircraft carrier.

Both pieces of equipment remain years away from active deployment.
Beijing is also building new submarines and ships, and developing a range of anti-ship ballistic missiles.

The armed forces, known as the People's Liberation Army, boasts more than two million personnel - the biggest military in the world.

Big military spenders - official figures

• US: $739.3bn
• China: $106bn
• UK: $63.7bn
• Russia: $52.7bn
• India: $31.9bn

Sources: IISS; Chinese government

• The world's military balance 

Russians vote for new president

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg looks around a Moscow polling station which has been fitted with webcams

Polling stations across Russia have opened as the presidential election gets under way.

Sunday's vote sees Vladimir Putin hoping to become president again after four years as prime minister.

Mr Putin was Russia's president from 2000 to 2008, but was barred by the constitution from standing for a third consecutive term.
He faces four challengers, three of whom he has defeated in previous elections.

The election is being held against a backdrop of popular discontent, sparked by allegations of widespread fraud during December's parliamentary elections in favour of Mr Putin's United Russia party.
Correspondents say there is real debate as to whether Mr Putin remains the best person to lead Russia, or whether the time has come for change.

Polls will be open from 8am to 8pm in each time zone, with the first opening in the Far East of the country at 20:00 GMT on Saturday, and the last in the western Kaliningrad region closing at 17:00 GMT on Sunday.

 The interior ministry is bringing 6,000 police reinforcements to Moscow from the regions, according to Russian media reports.

 Recent protests
Mr Putin voted in Moscow with his wife, Ludmila. Speaking afterwards to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, he said: "I'm expecting a good turnout, because presidential elections are an important event. I am confident that people will act responsibly".

Mr Putin's main challenger is considered to be Communist Gennady Zyuganov, who is running for a fourth time.

The other candidates are ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, who is standing as an independent, and former upper house speaker Sergey Mironov, from the centre-left A Just Russia party.

If Mr Putin fails to achieve more than 50% of the vote he will face his nearest rival in a run-off.

However, the liberal opposition behind some of the recent protests is not represented.

The so-called white-ribbon movement has attracted more than 50,000 people in recent demonstrations in Moscow and other major cities, after widespread allegations of vote-rigging during elections for the State Duma. Similar numbers attended pro-Putin and pro-Communist rallies.

Mr Putin has responded by announcing a programme to install webcams in each of the country's 90,000 polling stations, but critics have questioned their effectiveness.

"Cameras cannot capture all the details of the voting process, in particular during counting," said a report by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), quoted by the Associated Press.
A joint mission by the OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe comprising 250 observers is monitoring the elections.
Meanwhile tens of thousands of Russians have volunteered as election observers and been trained to recognise and report violations.

The Candidates

• Vladimir Putin, 59-year-old ex-KGB spy and current prime minister, former president between 2000 and 2008

• Gennady Zyuganov, Communist Party leader

• Mikhail Prokhorov, billionaire metals magnate turned politician
• Vladimir Zhirinovsky, nationalist firebrand, leader of Liberal Democratic Party

• Sergei Mironov, leader of centre-left A Just Russia Party, former head of the upper house

At the scene

Richard Galpin BBC News, Novosibirsk

 

According to the top election official at the polling station we have been visiting here in Novosibirsk, just over 41% of registered voters had cast their ballots by 2pm local time - the half-way point in voting day. This is higher than expected.

As in the rest of the country, webcams are up and running in the polling station but officials insist they are not needed in this area.
Around the room which houses the large, transparent ballot boxes, observers are sitting, quietly keeping an eye on the voting process.
Novosibirsk, like many cities, has seen an upsurge in people volunteering to monitor the election.

Activists, angered by the evidence of rigging in last December's parliamentary election, organised a training programme which created thousands of new monitors.

The conclusions they and other Russian and international monitoring teams reach on whether this election was free and fair will be critical for the legitimacy of the country's new president.

Are you in Russia? What are your thoughts on the elections? Send us your comments using the form below.