China yesterday extended its spending spree on the world's largest armed forces, unveiling a 12.2 percent increase in the defence budget for 2014 and provoking fresh concern in rival Japan.
Beijing has for years been raising spending on the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in double-digit steps, reflecting its military ambitions as it asserts its new-found economic might and its claims in a series of territorial disputes with Tokyo and others.
The spending has raised eyebrows in the region and Washington.
"We will resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests," Premier Li Keqiang said at the opening of the Communist Party-controlled National People's Congress (NPC).
Beijing will "place war preparations on a regular footing" and "build China into a maritime power", he added.
"We will safeguard the victory of World War II and the post-war international order, and will not allow anyone to reverse the course of history," Li said -- a phrase China often uses in relation to Japan.
China has been expanding its bluewater capabilities in recent years, with its first aircraft carrier going into service in September 2012.
Beijing and Tokyo's vessels and aircraft regularly shadow each other near disputed East China Sea islands called Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese, raising fears of a clash.
A budget report prepared for the NPC meeting said that "the appropriation for national defence is 808.23 billion yuan ($132 billion), up 12.2 percent".
Shortly after the announcement Japan expressed concern about Beijing's openness about the PLA -- which includes the army, navy and air force.
This year's stated increase follows rises of 10.7 percent in 2013, 11.2 percent in 2012 and 12.7 percent in 2011.
Analysts believe China's actual military spending is significantly higher than publicised, with the Pentagon estimating it at between $135 billion and $215 billion in 2012.
The United States itself remains far ahead as the global leader in defence spending, with Washington approving a 2014 budget of $633 billion in December.
But the Pentagon intends to scale back the US Army by more than an eighth to between 440,000 and 450,000 active-duty troops, its lowest level since World War II.