China will boost defense spending by 12 percent next year, setting the budget at 808.2 billion yuan ($132 billion). Some Western media once again speculated about the China threat theory. China will definitely not buy it.

China's annual defense budget has exceeded neighboring countries. But China is playing a globally strategic role. There is no comparison between China and small countries who cannot be the benchmark for China's defense budget.

China's annual military spending has exceeded Russia, but has China acquired greater military strength than Russia? Obviously no. Compared with Russia, we still have key weaknesses.

China's military spending should exceed Japan to a large extent. We should have an absolute advantage over Japan in terms of naval and air forces and strategic striking capabilities, as Japan has shielding from its military alliance with the US. With this alliance, Japan needn't worry about its imagined invasion by China at all. But China needs to ensure its security independently because no one can offer a guarantee.

China has the most uncertainties about its security situation among major global powers. The West is still unsettled by China's political system and the idea of overthrowing it always exists in the minds of some Westerners.

Meanwhile, China has territorial disputes with other countries externally and faces separatism on its border regions. The strategic plot behind the possible manipulation of outside forces on these issues often makes us feel uneasy.

Finally, China is among the world's biggest trading partners with expansive overseas interests involved. China's military strength is far from enough to provide even the slightest protection for them.

As China develops into the world's second largest economy, many conflicts have pointed toward China. If China's military strength is in a disadvantageous position, the security of China and world peace will be shaken.

China has no intention of overturning the current international security pattern. We feel it silly to initiate an arms race with the US. China is deep seated in its thinking of defense rather than offense. Most of China's attention will be focused on internal problems. The West can hardly imagine the challenges China faces in securing people's livelihoods and maintaining its own unity. China will never seek to grab hegemony, a word in the traditional sense of international politics.

China will not stop increasing its military spending. It is believed the best scale for it in the long run is keeping it at half or two-thirds of that of the US. As the scale of military spending is a sensitive issue, it is vital to enhance its utilization.

China's increased military spending will always generate speculation from the West and Japan. Such undesired voices are nothing compared to the strategic benefits gained from the development of our defensive strength.

The increase still lags behind the basic need to consolidate our defense strategies, not to mention challenging the world order. The big powers know it clearly and we needn't care about any speculation.