News Brief
Amid Rising Regional Tensions, China Increases Defence Spending By 7.2 Per Cent: All About It
Representative Image. (Guang Niu/Getty Images)
China has announced a 7.2 per cent increase in its defence spending for 2024, amidst escalating hostility over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
This announcement was made at the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislative body.
The country is set to allocate 1.665 trillion yuan ($231.4 billion) towards defence spending in 2024, as outlined in the government's budget report and as reported by Hindustan Times.
The Chinese defence budget is three times India’s defence spending but much lower than the US military budget.
Speaking at the event, NPC spokesman Lou Qinjian said, the world's second-largest economy will maintain "reasonable growth" in its defence budget to "safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests."
However, concerns over China's military expansion persist among global powers, including the United States, Japan, and NATO.
China's military spending, which accounts for 1.6 per cent of its GDP, is proportionally lower than that of the US or Russia.
Nonetheless, its increasing defence capabilities have raised alarms, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
Also, China's assertive actions in the South China Sea and its territorial claims have strained relations with neighboring countries and drawn international scrutiny.
Concerns have also been raised regarding China's nuclear capabilities.
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