China has announced that it plans to invest 7.2% more on defense, making it the second highest in the world after the US. This is about 1. 6 trillion yuan (US$222 billion), similar to last year’s increase.
Disagreements with the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and other countries that also claim the South China Sea are leading to more advanced military technology like stealth planes and aircraft carriers, as well as more nuclear weapons.
The official budget number announced on Tuesday at the start of the annual meeting of the government’s controlled legislature is thought to be much less than what the People’s Liberation Army, the military part of the ruling Communist Party, actually spends when you take into account spending on research and development and buying weapons from other countries, according to many experts from other countries.