China raises defence budget amid military modernisation

China has increased its defence budget by 8.1 per cent for 2018, largest rise in three years, fuelling the country’s ambitious military modernisation programme amid rising security concerns.

The defence budget will be $175 billion (1.11 trillion yuan), according to a report issued at the opening of the China’s annual meeting of parliament, reports Reuters.

In 2017, China, the second largest spender on defence after the US, increased the defence budget by 7.0 per cent, to $164.60 billion. The US defence budget amounted to $602.8 billion.

The spending figure is closely watched around the world for clues to China’s strategic intentions as it develops new military capabilities, including stealth fighters, aircraft carriers and anti-satellite missiles.

China Premier Li Keqiang said that the defence spending increase comes as the country’s economic growth expanded 6.9 per cent last year, the first acceleration in annual growth since 2010.

But China kept its 2018 economic growth target at around 6.5 per cent, Li added.

China does not provide a breakdown for how it allocates its defence budget, leading neighbours and other military powers to complain that Beijing’s lack of transparency has added to regional tensions.

One senior Asia diplomat , speaking before the announcement was made, said the real rise would likely be at least double what China revealed considering efforts to build up the industrial military complex and deepen military-civilian integration.

 “Some spending will be hidden in civilian spending,” said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

China’s military build-up has rattled the nerves of its neighbours, particularly because it has taken an increasingly assertive stance in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas and over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

With worries about potential disputes with the United States in the region, China’s military had mounted what defence sources and diplomats viewed as a lobbying campaign for more spending.

US President Donald Trump has proposed a military budget that is the largest since 2011 and focused on beefing up the country’s nuclear defences and countering the growing strength of China and Russia.

The proposal, part of Trump’s budget request for the US government, would provide the Pentagon $617 billion and an additional $69 billion to fund ongoing wars in fiscal year 2019. That is $74 billion more than in the budget for the previous fiscal year.