Defence Budget

Taiwan holds military drills amid concerns over possible defence budget cut

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 ...

Taiwan's president vows to boost defence budget as China threats rise

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

Japan cabinet okays record defence budget of $55 bn amidst regional threat

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

Japan to unveil record $735 bn budget with ramped-up defence spending

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's Nato push: Higher defence spending, continued aid to Ukraine

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

Putin bets big on war: Russia approves $126 billion defence budget for 2025

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

China's defence budget soars, can India match up with its military might?

As China's military spending surges, the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific has shifted. This has significant implications for India's defence strategy, highlighting the urgent need for an overhaul

Japan's defence ministry seeks record budget amidst growing Chinese threat

Japan's Defence Ministry Friday sought a record 8.5 trillion yen (USD 59 billion) budget for the next year to fortify its deterrence on southwestern islands against China's increasing threat, while focusing on unmanned weapons and AI to make up for the declining number of servicemembers as a result of the country's shrinking population. The ministry's request for 2025 marks the third year of Japan's rapid five-year military buildup plan under the government's ongoing security strategy. Japan aims to spend 43 trillion yen (USD 297 billion) through 2027 to double its annual military spending to around 10 trillion yen, making it the world's third-largest military spender after the United States and China. The budget request was approved at the Defence Ministry meeting Friday ahead of a submission to the Finance Ministry for negotiations through December. Japan has been rapidly building up the defense of the southwestern region in recent years amid China's growing military threats and

Taiwan defence spend to outpace expected GDP growth as China threat rises

Taiwan's govt has made military modernisation a key policy platform and has repeatedly pledged to spend more on its defences as threat from China rises, including developing made-in-Taiwan submarines

Budget Frontlines: A long shot from the 2% goalpost for defence funds

A deep dive into the defence budget allocations and strategic challenges, kicking off a three-part analysis

Fighter jets to submarines: Budget 2024 aims at major defence acquisitions

In absolute terms, Budget 2024's allocation under the capital head to the armed forces stands at Rs 1.72 trillion, which is over nine per cent more than the FY24 Revised Allocation

Budget 2024: Rajnath Singh thanks FM for highest allocation to defence

This Budget is unique in many ways and by clearly outlining the NDA Government's 9 key priorities for all-round and inclusive development, defence minister Singh added

How defence Budget priorities have shifted after the Galwan clash?

From 2020 to 2024, India's defence Budget rose from Rs 4.71 trillion to a projected Rs 6 trillion, focusing on modernisation, equipment acquisition, and self-reliance

FY24 defence production grows 17% to record high of Rs 1.27 trillion

MoD says value of defence production has grown by over 60 per cent in the five years since FY20

Pakistan govt announces nearly 15% hike in defence Budget for 2024-25

Pakistan on Wednesday announced a nearly 15 per cent hike in its defence spending and allocated Rs 2,122 billion in the 2024-25 budget, marking a significant increase from last year amidst strenuous efforts to secure a fresh loan from the IMF to meet the cash-strapped nation's external liabilities. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, the first budget of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) coalition government which came to power after the February 8 general elections. Last year, the government allocated Rs 1,804 billion for defence, which was higher than the Rs 1,523 billion allocated the previous year. Aurangzeb said the government set a 3.6 per cent GDP growth target for the next year -- higher than the 3.5 per cent set for the outgoing year. The country however missed that target and could only achieve 2.38 per cent growth. He said the total volume of the budget

HAL, BEL, Data Patterns: Why is Jefferies bullish on these defence stocks?

Analysts at Jefferies see up to 32% further upside on Data Patterns stock, and up to 18% and 10% for BEL and HAL; owing to global geo-political tensions and India's focus on self-reliance.

China defence Budget: Concerns about low soldier readiness, morale dominate

Jump in Chinese defence Budget comes amid concerns in Beijing that its armed forces lack discipline after decades without real combat and a wide-ranging mission to eradicate military corruption

India's defence budget masks capital allocations to each service

The only way to estimate the capital allocation for each service is to calculate the allocations to each service over the preceding decade

Defence budget grows nominally, but fails to beat rising inflation

It covers spending on the so-called Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), which amount to over a million armed personnel under the Ministry of Home Affairs

Indian Navy and Coast Guard to receive advanced remote control guns

Ministry of Defence has inked a contract with Advanced Weapon Equipment India Ltd for the production and supply of 463 indigenously manufactured 12.7 mm Stabilised Remote Control Guns (SRCG)