Japan will raise military spending this year for the first time in over a decade under a ruling party plan, an official said Tuesday, as Tokyo summoned Beijing's envoy in a territorial row.
The national defence task force of the newly-elected Liberal Democratic Party will increase the defence budget request by more than 100 billion yen ($1.15 billion) in response to an emboldened China, a party official told AFP.
The relatively small amount -- just over two percent of the total military budget -- is largely symbolic, but reflects anxiety at what Japan sees as an increasingly hostile region in which China appears happy to throw its weight about.
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