China Announces 12.2 Percent Increase In Defense Budget At $132 Billion

China, in the midst of a massive military modernization, will increase it its annual defense budget to $132 billion, a 12.2 percent increase from the previous year.

Last year, Beijing spent about $117.7 billion on defense, a 10.7 per cent increase from 2012.

China on Wednesday announced a 12.2 per cent increase in its defence budget taking the military spending for this year to $132 billion, far above India's $36 billion.
 

Defending the progressive increase of China's defence budgets, Fu Ying, spokesperson of NPC told the media on Tuesday that "based on our history and experience, we believe that peace can only be maintained by strength."
 
China's military spending has long been cited as a cause for concern in western countries. "We have heard such concerns... Indeed, certain countries have been selling the idea of China as a major threat," Fu said.
 
In January, Beijing announced plans to build world’s first 10,000-ton class marine surveillance ship under a contract worth over $46 million. The contract awarded to China Ship-building Industry Corporation, includes the construction of another 4,000-ton surveillance ship. Tests for the ship's marine clutch have so far been successful.

If the rest of the massive vessel is fully completed, China will overtake the current record holder, Japan – who owns a 7,125 tonnes surveillance ship.

Last month, China successfully tested a hypersonic missile vehicle designed to travel several times the speed of a sound, technology that could allow armies to rapidly strike distant targets anywhere around the globe.

The Chinese vehicle, dubbed the WU-14, is supposed to travel at Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound, according to a report in The Washington Free Beacon.

China has confirmed the successful test flight, but stresses that the system is not designed specifically to penetrate US missile defenses, as reported by China Daily.