Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

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

In this photo released March 31, 2023, by China's Xinhua News Agency, a soldier fires a weapon during a combat training of the 42nd fleet of the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy at an unspecified location in the sea, Jan. 31, 2023. (Ma Yubin/Xinhua via AP) In this photo released March 31, 2023, by China's Xinhua News Agency, a soldier fires a weapon during a combat training of the 42nd fleet of the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy at an unspecified location in the sea, Jan. 31, 2023. (Ma Yubin/Xinhua via AP)
Share
BEIJING -

China on Tuesday announced a 7.2 per cent increase in its defence budget, which is already the world's second-highest behind the United States at 1.6 trillion yuan (US$222 billion), roughly mirroring the rise of the last year.

Tensions with the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and neighbors who share claims to the crucial South China Sea are seen as furthering growth in increasingly high-tech military technologies from stealth fighters to aircraft carriers and a growing arsenal of nuclear weapons.

The official budget figure announced Tuesday at the opening session of the rubber-stamp legislature's annual meeting is considered by many foreign experts to be 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.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

Local Spotlight

Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.

Some Manitobans are cleaning up Sunday morning, after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province Saturday.

Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.

A gargantuan gourd – affectionately named ‘Orangina’ by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home – earned the massive honour of being named B.C.’s heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.

Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.