And, just as predictably, each year the Chinese indignantly deny the accusations. The international media gets momentarily excited and, after a few days, the dispute dies down, with nobody any wiser.

This year, however, there were a few refinements to this choreography. The Americans duly accused the Chinese of misstating their true military budget.

But the Chinese did not protest much; indeed, they actually announced another hike in their military expenditure, by a whopping 17.6 per cent, confirming the upward trend of the last two decades.

Washington's claim that China's military budget is much higher than official figures indicate is well-known.

But this is not necessarily because Beijing wishes to cheat. Every nation provides hidden subsidies to arms manufacturers and hides some of its military spending under different budgets: Much of America's nuclear programme is paid for by its Department of Energy, and spying activities are scattered across various other government departments.

China is more prone to this practice, if only because its heavy industry remains under direct government control.

Much also depends on how spending is computed. The recent strengthening of the Chinese currency - for reasons entirely unconnected to the military - automatically makes Beijing's defence budget appear bigger, in US dollar terms.

Calculations differ but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute - an authority on the topic - is probably close to the mark in its conclusion that China is now second to the United States in purchasing power parity terms, spending the equivalent of S$261 billion on its military, compared with Washington's S$735 billion.

The Pentagon's claims that China is developing its space capabilities are not particularly earth-shattering either. Most countries are devoting an increasing amount of resources to space programmes, either in order to improve command-and-control systems for their ground forces, or in order to disrupt the capabilities of potential enemies.

What is noteworthy in the latest US report is its emphasis on China's ability to use 'dual-use' technology - scientific know-how which has civilian uses, but which can also be adopted for military purposes.

The reason for this allegation is clear enough: It is a warning that some ordinary commercial relations with China may be contrary to America's strategic interests, particularly in high-tech industries.

And the main target is equally obvious: Europe, which is debating whether to lift its arms embargo on China.

The Americans are not only determined to prevent such a move, they are also arguing that Europe and the US - as well as Washington's other allies - should tighten trade procedures, to avoid 'leakage' of Western technology to the Chinese military.

For the first time ever, US and Chinese officials will meet in private to discuss the Pentagon report.

The age of 'megaphone diplomacy' - of making public statements designed to simply embarrass the other side - therefore appears to be over. But the Pentagon is still using its megaphones, this time for domestic consumption.

With a new administration due to be elected, the Pentagon is determined to maintain its current budget, which is running at the highest level since World War II.

And if this can be done by alleging that even normal trade relations benefit the Chinese military, so much the better.

Jonathan.eyal@gmail.com