ASEAN is preparing to expand its defense partnership with the United States and allies due to the growing military threat from China

On March 5, 2024, the Chinese Ministry of Finance announced that It plans to increase annual military spending to 7.2% of GDP ($232 billion). Thus, China’s military budget will exceed 10 times the spending on education and 5 times the spending on science and technology.

At the same time, Xi Jinping said that an increase in spending on the PLA is necessary to “properly celebrate” the Chinese army’s 100th anniversary, which will take place on August 1, 2027.

In September 2023, Senator Dan Sullivan, citing US intelligence, emphasized that China’s real military budget had almost reached $700 billion; Beijing’s increase in underreported formal spending may indicate Xi Jinping’s intention to increase this amount to “catch up” with US military spending.