China today announced that it would hike its defence budget by 11.2 per cent to $106.4 billion, pushing its military spending for the first time to triple digit, a move that may fuel concerns among neighbours and others about its growing might in Asia Pacific.
Beijing this year proposes to spend on defence 670 billion yuan ($106.4 billion), which is an increase of 11.2 per cent over the previous year, Mr Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), said at a press conference here.
China, which has the world’s largest standing army of 2.3 million, had been hiking its defence budget by double-digit during most part of the last decade. Analysts believe its actual spending is much higher than the official figures.
Last year, the country unveiled its first aircraft carrier, a former Soviet-era vessel which is expected to enhance the reach of the Chinese navy.
According to official figures, China had spent about $92 billion on defence last year, which represented a 12.7 per cent increase over the 2010 budget of $77 billion. This year’s increase would represent a hike of $14.4 billion.
Besides, the specified military spending, which many western analysts say is far higher than the official version, China last year spent over $100 billion on internal security.
Analysts say the hike in China’s defence budget, which is now almost triple of the Indian defence spending, may impact New Delhi’s military expenditure.
India had allocated $36.04 billion for defence last year, which represented an 11.59 per cent growth over the 2010 budget.