China defense spending seen rising as territorial rows deepen

A series of territorial disputes with its neighbors will ensure China boosts defense spending when it reveals this year’s military budget ahead of the annual parliamentary sitting next week, security experts say.

After almost three decades of sharply increased military outlays, an increasingly assertive China now has the firepower to challenge rivals claiming strategically important and resource-rich territory in the East China and South China seas.

The Chinese navy, now second in size only to the U.S. fleet in terms of raw numbers, has become a genuine blue-water force and is conducting almost continuous patrols and exercises in these contested waters.

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David Lague and Terril Yue Jones, Reuters via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/9f8JD7ZJKJ0/