<b>Nitin Pai:</b> Look at China's defence reforms

What caught public attention last week was the announcement that China’s defence outlays have crossed a trillion yuan ($151 billion) for the first time, albeit growing at a slower 7 per cent in line with slower economic growth expectations.

As usual, foreign analysts complained that the figures were opaque, and if you were to count pensions and military research and development allocations, the real defence expenditure would be around 50 per cent higher. But let’s face it: To the extent that revealing how much you spend on defence is part of defence – in that you deter adversaries by showing how