China pledges to strengthen defences without revealing budget

Beijing

CHINA pledged more support for its military yesterday, including strengthening maritime and air defences as it takes steps to safeguard its sovereignty, but did not give spending figures for 2017 despite promises of transparency.

Parliament's spokesman Fu Ying said on Saturday defence spending for this year would rise about 7 per cent, accounting for about 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product - the same level as the last few years.