China's military leadership announced this month that this year's biannual raise for armed services personnel would be between 5 and 40 percent depending on rank and service branch, Xinmin.cn reports.

The salary of petty officers will rise most quickly, by 40 percent, while other military officers' salaries will increase by an average of 1,000 yuan (about US$152) per month.

In addition, salaries for members of the Second Artillery Force of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will increase the most, followed by the Air Force and Navy. Army compensation will increase the least, officials said.

The increase marked the seventh time military salaries have risen since 1949 and the third raise since July 2006, with the previous raise occurring on July 2008. Officials expect that salaries will continue to increase approximately every two years.

In recent years, China has greatly expanded its military, attracting much international attention. In 2010, China's defense budget swelled 7.5 percent to 532.1 billion yuan (US$81.06 billion). During last year's National Party Congress (NPC) session, the session's spokesman Li Zhaoxing said most of the budget increase would be used for raising salaries for personnel.

According to government policy, the salary of military officers is typically 20 percent higher than civilian public servants. Military affairs experts have said that the recent increases are reasonable due to high inflation in recent years.

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