China lifts lid on military secrecy China sought to demonstrate a new level of military transparency by publicising more detail than before on the structure of its armed forces on Tuesday. The ground forces of the People's Liberation Army number 850,000, the PLA Air Force now has a total strength of 398,000 and the PLA Navy counts 235,000, the Ministry of National Defense said in its latest twice yearly white paper. It also declassified the designations of army corps. While the numbers have long circulated in independent publications online, the document marks the first time the world's largest standing army by headcount gives this level of detail on its structure. The cautious move away from its usual secrecy comes as China is slowing its military expansion, but the task to safeguard increasingly global interests brings its armed forces, empowered by a two-decade spending binge, in more frequent contact with other militaries in the region. Last month, the government announced that military spending would increase 10.7 per cent this year. That rate is below the average of an almost unbroken run of double-digit increases over the past two decades. It comes down even further if adjusted for inflation, and independent analysts increasingly believe that it reflects real military spending to a significant extent as semi-official sources have helped enhance understanding of how the PLA finances itself. But at the same time, several of China's neighbours as well as the US have repeatedly expressed concern over China's military expansion and growing assertiveness which they have complained is at odds with Beijing's claim that it does not seek hegemony and has a purely defensive military strategy. While the white paper repeats those assertions, it does little to quell doubts over more assertive trends as it emphasises the importance for the military to "maintain constant combat readiness" and "provide reliable security for Chinese interests abroad." "On the issues concerning China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, some neighbouring countries are taking actions that complicate or exacerbate the situation, and Japan is making trouble over the issue of the Diaoyu Islands," the paper said, in a reference to the maritime territorial disputes with Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines that have shaken regional stability over the past few years. Without explicitly naming the US, the paper also pointed the finger at Washington. "Some country has strengthened its Asia-Pacific military alliances, expanded its military presence in the region, and frequently makes the situation there tenser," it said, in a repetition of language frequently used with regard to the US.