Beijing, March 4 (Reuters) - China will raise its heavily scrutinised defence spending by nearly a fifth this year, a top official said today, warning self-ruled Taiwan that Beijing would “tolerate no division”.

Jiang Enzhu, spokesman for China’s National People’s Congress, or parliament, stressed that China adhered to a path of peaceful development and said the money would be used to raise the pay of service personnel, improve training and upgrade military equipment.

“China pursues a national defence policy which is defensive in nature,” Jiang told a news conference. “China’s limited military capability is solely for the purpose of safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will not pose a threat to any country.”

The planned allocation for the People’s Liberation Army for 2008 was 417.769 billion yuan ($58.76 billion), up 17.6 per cent on 2007.

US officials have said China’s growing might is aimed at Taiwan, the island Beijing regards as its territory and whose March 22 presidential election it will watch closely. Jiang called the situation in the Taiwan Strait “grim and complex”.