China has disclosed its intention to amplify its defense expenditure by 7.2%, reaching 1.67 trillion yuan in 2024, as revealed in a budget report by the Ministry of Finance during the country’s annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing.
The declaration of this year’s military budget arrives amidst a series of changes within the People’s Liberation Army, including the reassignment of notable figures, such as the former Defense Minister Li Shangfu, amidst President Xi Jinping’s extensive anti-corruption campaign over the past year.
China’s projected augmentation in military spending for 2024 echoes similar patterns in previous years, with a 7.2% surge recorded last year, a 7.1% upturn in 2022, a 6.8% elevation in 2021, a 6.6% ascent in 2020, and a 7.5% expansion in 2019, as per official data.
China ranks second globally in terms of its officially declared military budget, following the United States. However, some unofficial assessments suggest that Beijing’s actual military expenditure might exceed its official declarations.
China persistently upholds its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, with President Xi Jinping emphasizing reunification as an “inevitable historical process.”
In the government’s work report released on Tuesday, Beijing reiterated its firm stance against any separatist endeavors targeting ‘Taiwan independence’ and any external interventions.
Tensions between Beijing and its neighboring countries have escalated, ranging from land border disputes with India in recent years to confrontations in the South China Sea with Southeast Asian nations more recently.
On Tuesday, the Philippines accused China’s coast guard of engaging in “reckless maneuvers” that resulted in a collision between a Chinese vessel and a Philippine vessel en route to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
This incident isn’t the first of its kind, as Chinese vessels have previously clashed with Philippine vessels during resupply missions to troops stationed on an old warship that Manila grounded over a decade ago.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, in a 2016 ruling, invalidated China’s expansive claims over significant portions of the South China Sea, a ruling that Beijing has consistently rejected.
Moreover, Beijing has expressed discontent over joint exercises and patrols conducted by the U.S. and other Western naval powers with various Asian nations in waters that Beijing asserts as its own.
