NEW DELHI: China on Sunday justified it increasing defence expenditure citing the tough challenges on the borders in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Defence spokesperson Sr. Co.
Wu Qian claimed that the increased amount will be used to develop new-domain forces with the latest combat capabilities and joint strikes by its armed forces amid the ongoing standoffs with India and in South China sea. "The Chinese military faces tough challenges in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Wu said during the ongoing annual parliament session. Wu further added that the increased expenditure will be used to develop new-domain forces with new combat capabilities and to enhance systems and capacity for reconnaissance and early warning, joint strikes, battlefield support and integrated logistics support.
The spending will also be put into improving military training under combat conditions and deepening national defence and military reform. Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced that China’s planned defense expenditure for this year is 1.784665 trillion yuan (approximately USD 249 billion).
China has the world’s second-largest military budget, following the US, whose latest defense spending proposal stood at over USD 890 billion, as put forward by former President Donald Trump. Last year, China increased its defense budget by 7.2 percent, bringing it to about USD 232 billion (1.
67 trillion yuan). Accoring to Wu, when .
