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Fearing containment, China raises defence spending

BEIJING, Jan 20: China fears containment abroad and separatist groups at home, a defence policy paper said, justifying a drive to increase military spending and push the People's Liberation Army into the high-tech era. China's security has been improving as its economy grows and the PLA embraces modernisation, the defence "white paper" said, but pro-independence forces in Taiwan, Tibet and the energy-rich western region of Xinjiang still "pose threats to China's unity and security". "On this issue, there can be no compromise and no concessions," Defence Minstry chief spokesman Hu Changming said at a news conference to launch the document. China has pointed to its recent deployment of navy ships to police pirate-troubled seas off Africa as a sign of benign military intentions. Analysts say the mission shows a rising but cautious power's desire to project its growing global influence without alarming neighbors. But China's increased spe...