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What does increase in China's defense budget indicates.

 On March 5, China announced a 7.2% increase in its defense budget for the coming year, up slightly from last year 7.1% rate of increase. This is the eighth consecutive year of single-digit percentage point increase. The 2023 figure was given as 1.55 trillion Yuan($224 billion), which roughly doubles from 2013. In his report, Premier Li Keqiang said that over the past year, "We remained committed to the party's absolute leadership over the people's armed forces". "The people's armed forces intensified efforts to enhance their political loyalty, to strengthen themselves through reform, scientific and technological advances, and personnel training, and to practice law-based governance", Li said. As China is aiming to achieve the centenary goals of basically realize the modernization of national defense and the armed forces by 2035 and fully build the armed

 forces into world-class forces by the mid-21st century on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army which is in 2027. Along with the world's biggest standing army, China has the world's largest navy and has recently launched its aircraft carrier. According to the US, China also has the largest aviation force in the Indo-Pacific, with more than half of its fighter planes consisting of fourth or fifth generation models. This budget would give a massive boost to missiles, along with stealth aircraft, bombers capable of delivering nuclear missiles, advanced surface ships and nuclear powered submarines. While the government says most of the spending increases will go towards improving welfare for troops, the PLA has greatly expanded its overseas presence in recent years. China has already established one foreign military base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti and is refurbishing Cambodia's Ream Naval Base that could give it at least a semi-permanent presence on the Gulf of Thailand. 


Comparing China's military spending with other countries in the region.

China's defense budget has grown five-fold over the past two decades, jumping from $50 billion in 2001 to $270 billion in 2021. This has had a significant impact on the balance of military power globally, but especially within China's neighborhood. In 2020, China was the second-largest defense spender in the Indo-Pacific behind Japan. In 2021, China spent more on defense than the next 13 Indo-Pacific economies combined. China's rising defense spending

 corresponds with over two decades of modernization efforts. China began military modernization in earnest after the 1955-1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, which exposed fundamental weakness in China's ability to deter foreign intervention in sovereignty disputes. Despite significant increase over the last two decades, China's military spending pales in comparison to that of the United States, which nearly three times as much as China in 2021, which is at $767.8 billion. Even when accounting for reporting discrepancies, China
would have to raise its spending considerably to match the United States. However, it is worth noting that the United States maintains a global military presence while China remains primarily focused on security issues within the Indo-Pacific.


What does it mean for India?

Since India and China are the biggest military rivals in Asia, locked in border disputes and a race for dominance in the Indian Ocean. The US estimated the Chinese military spending to be more than four times higher than the officially announced budget in 2002. However, a decade later, the US Department of Defense noted that China's real military spending might now be around 1.1 to 2 times higher than stated in its official budget. China's military spending at $225 billion is just a third of what the US spends on its military. But in Asia, China is the biggest spender with a very wide gap with other military powers. China's defense budget continues to be over three times higher than that of India's. India budget to spend $72.6 billion in which a huge amount goes to pensions and not much is left for research and development. Only Rs. 1.62 lakh crore have been allocated for capital expenditure, on buying new weapons, aircraft, ships and creating military infrastructure. 

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