China to boost defense spending by lowest rate in years

China will boost defense spending by just 6.6% in 2020, lowest rate in years as it battles an ecomic crisis brought on by coronavirus outbreak.

figure anunced Friday is down from double-digit percent increases of just a few years ago that have given China second largest defense budget in world behind U.S.

People’s Liberation Army, ruling Communist Party’s military wing, is world’s largest standing military and in recent years has ded aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines and stealth fighters to its arsenal, most of m produced domestically.

China says increases in spending mostly go toward improving conditions for troops, while foreign critics say actual spending could be much higher because many items are t included in official budget.

spending will pay to expand China’s navy and acquire vanced aircraft and or weapons to help Beijing enforce its territorial claims in South China Sea and expand its military presence in Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Defense spending rose by 7.5% last year.