Published :Friday, 4 March, 2016, Time : 12:00 AM View Count : 30
BEIJING, Mar 3 : China appears set to substantially hike its defence budget - a move that may have been triggered by the growing tensions in the South China Sea with the U.S., and rising cost of end-of-service payments to troops. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoted a source in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as saying that the defence budget, expected to be announced by the National People's Congress (NPC) when it convenes for a legislative session on Saturday, could be hiked by as much as 20pc. ?THE HINDU