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| Newly built Chinese Type 056 Corvettes |
No fewer than 11 countries are upgrading their navies amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.
As could be expected, China and the United States are leading the charge. China's submarine fleet is expected to match that of the US by 2020 — in numbers, at least — with 78 subs. Many are to be stationed at the Yulin Naval Base along the southern coast of Hainan.
Despite continuing to increase its military budget every year, China's national defense spending still pales in comparison to the United States. The latest statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute say the United States remains by far the world's top military spender, with its US$665 billion defense budget equal to the total of the next seven countries behind it on the list. US military expenditure is still three times that of China, which is still considerable given the amount is equal to the aggregate spend of 24 countries in East and South Asia.
Read the full story at Want China Times