U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, in Tokyo, says China's military budget lacks transparency

No country's military spending is transparent and is not expected to be transparent. Otherwise that country's security and defense capabilities are exposed.

Just as there are open taxation, there are hidden taxation.

But most dangerous is the "secret" arms development and the undisclosed research and production, and how that is being funded. The problem here is that all nations are probably involved in such hidden spending.

And worse... transparency does not assure any nation its security or defensive capability... or even assure its postion within the world community...

To expect transparency really makes little sense... and to even talk about it..?

Not sure what purpose it serves other than a warning to say that China is plotting something military behind the scenes...

The U.S. has military surveillance satellites that can find out and report what they're building anyway. For example, that nuclear aircraft carrier China intends to build will be hard to hide from the spy satellites or the much-rumored SR-72.

Nowadays, aircraft carriers are just a symbol, and a nice distraction. When China builds it, they know full well they're being watched. You don't even need a spy satellite. It's in a shipyard, it's big, and it's slow.

The ones you don't see being built outside, now that's the one people have the most concerns about. They're usually smaller, faster, stealthier, and cost way less.

The lack of "transparency" in China's military budget really shouldn't be a major concern. If China wants to classify their entire military budget as "black" or non-transparent, then so be it.

The U.S. has military surveillance satellites that can find out and report what they're building anyway. For example, that nuclear aircraft carrier China intends to build will be hard to hide from the spy satellites or the much-rumored SR-72.

Obviously China is replacing its 1960s-vintage Soviet-designed military hardware with more modern and superior weaponry necessary to protect its One Belt One Road program interests and territorial expansionism goals much like Japan did during the 1930s.

The U.S. and its allies must keep pace to meet the challenge China poses.

What about US?

He is keeping his job intact,he needs to make some response .Nothing to do with transparency,even the communist Chinese let you know whatever you wanna to know in their budget, they does cares what you think. And the admiral understood this for sure.

So in others words...he is scared and paranoid USA will lose.

Frankly speaking, why any country in the world needs to be transparent with military spendings?

Eh??  Defence budgets need to be "transparent" to other countries?

Keeping your potential foes in the dark costs $0.00

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

I think the proper comment here is, “So?”

Without a doubt both U.S. and China are ripe with shadow sectors, both under or outside the government influence, and both are using untraceable funds to play StarWars 2.0, in which I believe China is less dangerous than America.