[Jack Hydrazine]

The Chinese have been annually increasing the amount of money they spend on their military for quite a number of years. Should they still be surprised?

Either they live in a bubble or they have their heads buried in the sand.

[Vanders9]

I was more kind of pointing at the way the military has to fight for budget in your typical Western country, but even so, there is a difference between "spending money" and "increasing capability." Of course, the one does lead eventually to the other, but the rate at which it does that varies from country to country.

The mistake the analysts are making is not in underestimating how much the PLN is spending, but underestimating their ingenuity and adaptability in transposing all that cash into military might.