China has reportedly increased its defence budget by a whopping figure, raising alarm in various quarters, including in India, Philippines, Japan and Taiwan. After an 11.2 per cent hike, China’s defence budget now stands at a whopping $106.4 billion, second largest defence budget in the world after the United States.

China already has the world’s largest military with its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) having over two million personnel. Justifying the hefty allocation to defence, National People’s Congress spokesman Li Zhaoxing said: “You see, China has 1.3 billion people, a large territory and long coastline. But our defence spending is relatively low compared with other major countries.”