China plans to increase its defense budget by 14.9 percent in 2009, a spokesman for the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) said here on Wednesday.
The planned defense budget is 480.686 billion yuan, a rise of 62.482 billion yuan from last year, Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the annual session of the NPC, told a press conference.
The budget accounts for 6.3 percent of the country's total fiscal expenditure in 2009, a small decrease from previous years, Li said.
Li said the defense budget is raised to further increase the benefits of the country's troops.
More money would be used to adjust the subsidies and allowances for the servicemen to lift their living standards, he said.
The increased budget will also be used to upgrade military equipment in order to enhance the troops' ability to defend the country based on information technologies, and to level-up its capacity to engage in disaster relief and anti-terrorism missions.