NEW DELHI: China on Wednesday announced a 7.2 per cent hike in its annual defence budget to take it to over $245 billion, as it continues to boost its military capabilities across land, air, sea, nuclear, space and cyber domains at a rapid clip to take on adversaries in the Indo-Pacific and beyond amid ongoing geopolitical churn.
Experts say China’s actual defence spending is at least 40-50 per cent more than what it declares because it allocates funds under different heads to mask its massive military expenditure. The official Chinese defence budget is still more than three times of India’s ($79 billion) and second only to the US, which will spend over $900 billion on its military this year.
China’s sustained modernisation of its 2-million strong People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is designed to strategically challenge the US across the globe and prevent any third-party intervention in Taiwan as well as coercively flex its muscles in territorial disputes with its neighbours in South and East China Seas and the 3,488-km line of actual control with India. There are as yet no signs of de-escalation and de-induction of PLA troops along LAC after last Oct’s disengagement at two remaining face-off sites at Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.
“India should increase its defence budget to at least 2.5 per cent of its GDP, instead of just 1.9 per cent currently, for credible dissuasive deterrence against both China and Pakistan. There are several operational voids in our military capabilities that need to be urgently plugged,” a senior military officer told TOI.
Moreover, with ballooning salary and pension bills and a hefty expenditure on operational sustenance of its over 1.4-million strong armed forces, India is left with just about 25 per cent of its defence budget for military modernisation every year. This translates into operational shortfalls on several fronts, ranging from fighters, submarines and helicopters to advanced air defence missiles, anti-tank guided missiles and night-fighting capabilities.
The situation is especially dire for IAF, which is making do with just 30 fighter squadrons (each has 16-18 jets) despite a sanctioned strength of at least 42.5, even as India struggles to produce indigenous fourth-generation Tejas fighters. China, after basing its most advanced fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighters at some air-bases facing India, is now even showcasing sixth-generation prototypes, and is expected to deliver at least 40 J-35A fifth-generation jets to Pakistan, as reported by TOI earlier.
In nuclear arena, according to assessments, China is boosting its stockpiles faster than any other country, with over 600 operational warheads now and the number likely to cross 1,000 by 2035. Pakistan, meanwhile, is maintaining its parity with India, with the two having around 160-170 nuclear warheads each. China now also flaunts the world’s largest Navy with more than 370 warships and submarines, though it may not be as technologically capable as the US. In expanding maritime collusiveness after the land borders, China is helping Pakistan build a strong Navy, along with regular ‘Sea Guardian’ bilateral exercises.