China spent 7 per cent of its defence budget on Pacific exercises in 2023: Report

China spent 7 per cent or $15 billion of its defence budget on exercises in the Western Pacific in 2023, a Taiwanese estimate cited by Reuters showed.

The internal research by Taiwan’s armed forces shows that Beijing has ramped up its military presence amid rising tensions in the region.

China claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as its own. Beijing has even emphasised the use of force to bring the island nation under its control. China is also locked in maritime disputes with several countries over sovereignty of large parts of West Philippine Sea and East China Sea.

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"This reveals the logic of allocation of their resources," a senior Taiwan official briefed on the research was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"They are spending a huge amount of resources trying to gain control of the west of the First Island Chain."

"The Chinese Communist Party’s enormous military investment in recent years indeed has a negative impact to the peace and stability in the region, which is not conducive to global prosperity and development,," Taiwan's defence ministry told Reuters.

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According to Reuters,Taiwan’s defence ministry compiled the reports in May based on Taiwanese surveillance and intelligence on Chinese military activity in the Bohai Sea off northeast China, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the western Pacific Ocean.

The reports tallied China’s naval and air missions there in 2023, then estimated how much fuel and other consumables would cost for each hour of activity. The total was 110 billion yuan ($15.3 billion), including maintenance, repairs and salaries, the reports and the officials briefed on the research said.

The 110 billion yuan figure amounts to about 85 per cent of Taiwan’s 2023 defence budget, Reuters report added.

(With inputs from agencies)