Today: 7 October 2025
30 April 2021
2 mins read

China’s military modernisation poses global threat

It is reported that China mobilised 60,000 troops ostensibly for military exercises, but were in fact used to occupy contentious positions in Eastern Ladakh against India…reports Asian Lite News

China continues its military modernisation and aims for advances in high technology that will give it an edge over its adversaries, posing a major threat to global security.

Fabien Baussert for Modern Diplomacy writes that China mobilised 60,000 troops ostensibly for military exercises, but were in fact used to occupy contentious positions in Eastern Ladakh against India and was very much a part of the offensive strategy adopted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) across its periphery, displaying new weapons and equipment.

Western analysis of China’s defence budget over the years has claimed that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does not officially reveal its actual expenditure on defence and that available figures are way below the expenses actually incurred by the PLA.

DF-21Ds at the 2015 Victory Parade(wikipedia)

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which had originally estimated China’s defence expenditure for 2019 as being USD 261 billion, has reduced its estimates for expenditure in 2019 to USD 240 billion.

However, this assessment fails to take into account the rapid pace of China’s military modernisation in the last decade or so, including specific attention given to the rocket and missile forces, the PLA Navy and Air Force.

Also read:China continues incursions in Taiwan air zone

The new SIPRI estimates also exclude the idea that arms imports expenses came from outside the national budget, writes Baussert for Modern Diplomacy. Only the money spent on military research and development and testing has been retained in the official defence expenditure.

Official figures released by China for 2021 indicate that the defence budget is around Chinese Yuan 1.355 trillion (USD 209 billion), a 6.8 per cent increase over the core 2020 budget. However, the UK’s IISS estimates show that in real terms, the 2021 defence budget growth is slightly lower than in 2020, owing to the three per cent annual inflation rate in China. But in value terms, the increase amounts to USD 13 billion, a figure comparable with the entire defence budget of Taiwan.

Baussert further writes that while China’s central government budget is slated to fall by 0.2 per cent, total national government spending will probably increase by 1.8 per cent. Spending on the military as a share of overall national government spending according to the IISS rises from 5.1 per cent in 2020 to 5.4 per cent in 2021, the highest in several years. (ANI)

Also read:‘Chinese actions in South China Sea causing troubles in region’

Previous Story

Islamabad on high alert after terror threat

Next Story

British Biz Forum CBI Seeks Support For India’s Covid Fight

Latest from -Top News

OCTOBER 7: Stop the Violence Now, Says Guterres

Guterres recalled that “the attackers brutally killed more than 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals….reports Asian Lite News UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate halt to the violence in Gaza, Israel, and

Piyush Goyal Heads to Doha for Trade Talks

During the visit, both sides are expected to discuss the proposed India–Qatar Free Trade Agreement (FTA)….reports Asian Lite News Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will travel to Doha, Qatar, on

Hamas Heads to Egypt for Gaza Talks

The negotiation will focus on the details of enacting the first phase of the plan…reports Asian Lite News A delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas arrived in Egypt on Sunday ahead of

Multi-alignment, upgraded

With US ties strained and China tense, New Delhi taps Europe’s harder edge for co-development, clean tech and strategic autonomy, writes Manoj Menon India is recalibrating its great-power hedging as frictions with
Go toTop

Don't Miss

RCEP may fail as US mounts pressure on China

The new report that Biden’s intelligence agencies are currently preparing,

Chinese actions severely affecting environment in Indo-Pacific

China’s unilateral moves to build artificial islands in the South