Defence Budget

India may seek a 20% rise in defence modernisation spending next year as the MoD pushes for faster upgrades, stronger exports, and stricter accountability across domestic and foreign defence suppliers

China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects

Germany's finance minister on Tuesday vowed to lift the country's defense spending to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2029 as he presented the new government's spending plans. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition pushed plans through parliament to enable higher defence spending by loosening strict rules on incurring debt even before it took office last month. It acted ahead of the NATO summit starting Tuesday that aims to raise allies' defence spending target from 2 per cent of GDP to 3.5 per cent, plus another 1.5 per cent for potentially defense-related infrastructure. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Germany's defence spending will hit 2.4 per cent of GDP this year, and we will raise defence spending step by step so that we will reach a NATO quota of 3.5 per cent in 2029. Klingbeil, who is also the vice chancellor, said he will be very vigilant that the money is spent efficiently, for example by aiming for greater cooperation at European level on procurement, ...

Japan and other US allies have been engaged in difficult trade talks with the United States over President Trump's worldwide tariff offensive

Experts say increasing the defence budget as a share of GDP even by a single basis point could significantly increase access to funds

The report notes that achieving the vision of India as a developed nation by 2047, particularly through a strengthened defence sector, faces several roadblocks and challenges

China's most advanced aircraft carrier Fujian, equipped with electromagnetic catapults, has completed its eighth sea trial

A Kargil-style squeeze on public finances is unlikely in 2025, but rising defence demands may challenge Nirmala Sitharaman's consolidation strategy

Pakistan coalition government has endorsed an 18 per cent increase in defence spending to over Rs 2.5 trillion in the next budget due to tensions with India, according to a media report on Tuesday. The government is set to unveil the 2025-26 budget in the first week of the next month ahead of the start of the new fiscal year from July 1. India and Pakistan have witnessed heightened tensions since the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people. The Express Tribune reported that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) delegation, led by its chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his economic team to discuss the budget matters on Monday. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government shared roughly Rs 17.5 trillion worth of new budget framework with its key ally, the PPP, which agreed to 18 per cent increase in the defence outlay. There was a consensus between the PML-N and the PPP to increase the defence budget du

The Chinese military on Wednesday criticised the United States for increasing its defence budget to USD one trillion, saying that "wanton use of force will not make America great again". Reacting to reports that the US defence budget for fiscal year 2026 will reach a record USD one trillion, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defence, said such an act would only inflict painful disasters upon the people of the US and the rest of the world. China, which is the second largest defence spender after the US, hiked its defence budget early this year by 7.2% increase to USD 249, which is a USD 17 billion rise compared to last year. America's sky-high defence budget exposed once again the bellicose nature of the US side and its belief in "might makes right," Zhang was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The US government is in heavy debt, yet it keeps pouring ill-gotten wealth exploited from other countries into manufacturing weapons,

China's annual NPC highlighted a focus on keeping urban unemployment at 5.5%, creating 12 million new urban jobs, and advancing emerging tech in 2025

Hegseth has committed to redirecting Pentagon spending to more directly support war fighters

He further said that relaxation in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy and industrial licensing procedure are other elements that will propel the growth in the defence industry

Lai emphasised Taiwan's commitment to safeguarding its sovereignty, reinforcing its self-defence capabilities, and enhancing national security in response to rising threats from authoritarian regimes

Taiwan began three days of military drills on Tuesday as concerns rose over potential cuts to the defence budget due to legislative wrangling between the island's two major political parties. The drills began in the north with tank maneuvering at a base in Hsinchu featuring outmoded CM-11 tanks, which are gradually being replaced by newly purchased Abrams M1A2T from the US. The replacement marks a huge upgrade despite some complaints over the weight of the new tanks and their likely effectiveness at preventing a possible Chinese landing. Troops arrived on armoured personnel carriers, while Apache and S-70 helicopters whirled overhead, providing reconnaissance and covering fire. With the equipment Taiwan currently operates, the communication officer is on the ground to coordinate airborne attacks, said Army Captain Chuang Yuan-cheng of the 542 Armored Brigade in Hsinchu county just south of the capital of Taipei. That allows them to guide the helicopters so that ground fire and ...

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te pledged to strengthen the island's defences in the face of escalating Chinese threats, saying in a New Year's address on Wednesday that Taiwan was a crucial part of the line of defence of democracy globally. China claims Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, is part of its territory and has vowed to annex the island by force if necessary. Authoritarian countries such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are still collaborating to threaten the international order that is based on rules. This has severely influenced the Indo-Pacific region and the world's peace and stability, Lai said in his address. Beijing has used a variety of tactics in recent years to increase pressure on Taiwan, from sending warships and fighter jets toward the island on a near-daily basis to pressuring Taiwan's diplomatic allies to switch their recognition to China. In response, Taiwan has been reforming its military and buying weapons from the United States, its biggest unofficial

The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defence budget for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to fortify itself against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia. The Cabinet-endorsed draft defence budget marks the third year of Japan's ongoing five-year military buildup under the national security strategy adopted in 2022. The defense spending is part of the more than 115 trillion yen ($730 billion) national budget bill also a record that requires parliamentary approval by March to be enacted. Japan is preparing to deploy US-made Tomahawks late in the fiscal year 2025 as part of its ongoing effort to acquire strike-back capability with long-range missiles that can hit distant targets. The budget allocates 940 billion yen ($6 billion) for the so-called standoff defence system that also includes long-range missiles, satellite constellation and

The increase from the current fiscal year's initial annual budget of ¥112.6 trillion is around 2.6 per cent, largely in line with the government's forecast for overall inflation in this fiscal year

Trump plans to push Nato allies to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP while continuing aid to Ukraine, marking a significant shift in his foreign policy approach

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a record $126 billion defence budget for 2025, as the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to strain Russia's economy