China raises defense budget by 7.2% as it pushes for global heft and regional tensions continue

By HUIZHONG WU and CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — China is increasing its defense budget by 7.2% this year, similar to last year’s rise. At $222 billion, it is already the world’s second-highest behind the United States. Tensions with the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and neighbors with competing claims to the crucial South China Sea are seen as furthering growth in high-tech military technologies from stealth fighters to aircraft carriers and a growing arsenal of nuclear weapons. The official budget announced Tuesday is considered only a fraction of spending by the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party, once spending on research and development and foreign weapons purchases are considered.