China increases military spending to be smallest in 6 years

China is set to increase its defense spending by 7 to 8 percent this year, the lowest rise in the country’s military budget over the past six years.

Fu Ying, the spokeswoman for the Chinese National People’s Congress, told reporters in Beijing on Friday that the country needs to consider its defense needs, economic development as well as fiscal position in drafting the 2016 defense budget.

An increase of 7 to 8 percent would take China’s defense spending for this year to between $154 and $155 billion compared to $144 billion last year.

Ni Lexiong, a military expert at Shanghai's University of Political Science and Law told the Associated Press that the modest size of the increase appeared to surprise many observers who had been expecting another double-digit rise in line with the military’s higher profile.

The budget is still about one-quarter that of the United States. China has the world’s largest standing military with over two million troops.

The developments come as the US has increased its military presence in the South China Sea amid territorial disputes between China and its neighbors.

SS