Rapid increases in China's defense spending alone do not indicate its future direction -- or what the nation intends to do with its new military strength, Evan Medeiros, a political scientist at the RAND Corp., told the Oct. 28 Keizai Koho Center symposium.

Assessing China's intentions as to what kind of power it seeks to be in the future by simply looking at its military budget and modernization of the People's Liberation Army can lead to misconceptions, the China specialist at the U.S. think tank said.

"It's important to look at the behavior of the country as well. . . . There is a lot more going on in China," Medeiros told the audience.