China will increase its defense budget 7.2% this year

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China said Wednesday it will increase its defense budget 7.2% this year.

It was announced at the National People’s Congress, the annual meeting of China’s legislature.

The increase is the same percentage as last year.

China's military spending remains the second largest behind the U.S.

Tensions with the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and neighbors who share claims to the crucial South China Sea are seen as furthering growth in increasingly high-tech military technologies from stealth fighters to aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons.