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| PLA Navy War Ships (File Photo) |
BEIJING (PTI): In a major strategic shift, China has for the first time decided to spend more from its USD 132 billion defence budget to upgrade navy and air force amid deepening conflict with Japan, South China Sea dispute and US military push into Asia-Pacific.
The shift in allocation of funds, changing the old pattern of their equal distribution among the three forces in the past was part of a blueprint drawn by China's new leadership headed by President Xi Jinping at a key meeting recently where big structural reforms for the country's military were finalised, official media here reported.
Significantly, Xi - in his meeting with defence delegates attending the annual session of the Parliament on Tuesday asked the 2.3 million-strong world's largest standing military to hasten modernisation, focussing on combat capability.
He also sent out a stern message to the countries with which China has territorial disputes.
"We expect peace, but we shall never give up efforts to maintain our legitimate rights, nor shall we compromise our core interests, no matter when or in what circumstances," he said.
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