defence budget - Central News Hub

Cash-strapped Pakistan hikes defence spending by 16%

The crisis-hit Pakistan has proposed a roughly 16 per cent increase in the defence budget as the country continues to face internal and external security challenges.

Interestingly, all three services — Army, Navy, Air Force — were given an equal increase in the budget, although the military takes the major share given its size and the role, The Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan’s defence spending is now 1.7 per cent of its GDP, showing a decline compared to last year.

The defence spending in 2022-23 was around 2 per cent of the country’s GDP, the size of which has grown due to the rebasing of the economy, The Express Tribune reported.

Defence spending has always been the subject of discussions with some seeking greater transparency and open debate about the military’s budget.

In recent years, the government provides more details about the defence budget.

However, there has never been open debate within the parliament on the subject.

Observers believe that the increase in the defence budget is justified given the impending external and internal security challenges, The Express Tribune reported.

Despite the US troops withdrawal from neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan still deploys thousands of troops along the western border as well as in the erstwhile tribal areas to deal with the threat of terrorism.

The budget document shows that defence outlay for 2023-24 would be 1,804 billion PKR compared to the revised defence spending of 1,591 billion PKR earmarked for the outgoing fiscal year.

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Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, China has continued to significantly expand and overhaul its military..reports Asian Lite News

China’s military budget is set to increase again, the spokesperson for its “rubber-stamping” parliament has said, before a week-long political meeting expected to make big changes to China’s system of governance and increase measures to combat international sanctions, a media report said.

The spokesperson for the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body, addressed the media on the eve of its annial meeting to outline the week’s agenda, including changes to the constitution and the legal sector, and endorsing new appointments to senior roles, The Guardian reported.

Wang Chao said that the defence budget rises as a proportion of GDP had been moderate and below global averages. Last year’s 1.45 trillion yuan (190 billion pound) budget was a rise of 7.1 per cent and followed a rise of 6.8 per cent in 2021 and 6.6 per cent in 2020, the media outlet reported.

Wang did not say by how much the budget would increase, but said it was “appropriate and reasonable” and was needed for China to meet complex security challenges and to “fulfil its responsibilities as a major country”.

“The modernisation of China’s military will not pose a threat to any country,” Wang said. “On the contrary, it will only be a positive force for safeguarding regional stability and world peace.”

Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, China has continued to significantly expand and overhaul its military. However, information about actual spending compared with budget announcements remains opaque, with the US defence department estimating it could be 1.1 to 2 times higher.

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