#AceWorldNews says that AFP has reported that China on Wednesday extended its spending spree on the world’s largest armed forces, unveiling a 12.2 percent increase on the 2014 defence budget in a trend that has provoked concern in Asia and the US.
Beijing has for years been raising spending on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by double digits, reflecting its military ambitions as it asserts its new-found economic might and its claims in a series of territorial disputes with Japan and others.
“The appropriation for national defence is 808.23 billion yuan ($132 billion), up 12.2 percent,” said a budget report prepared for the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s Communist-dominated parliament, which began on Wednesday.
“We will resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” Premier Li Keqiang said at the opening session.
“We will safeguard the victory of World War II and the post-war international order, and will not allow anyone to reverse the course of history,” he said — a phrase China often uses in relation to rival Japan.
Beijing would also “place war preparations on a regular footing” and “build China into a maritime power”, Li added.
In comments ahead of the gathering, NPC spokeswoman Fu Ying sought to play down foreign worries about China’s defence expenditure.
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