China will increase military budget by 7 percent

China's defense budget will increase by 7 percent in 2017, Chinese media announced after doubts about the transparency of military spending were raised in an annual report.

This is the lowest growth in the Chinese defense budget in 10 years, which is associated with the weakening of economic dynamics and the forecast for the current year of a decrease in the growth rate of gross domestic product to 6.5 percent.

Chinese parliament spokesman Fu Ying said military spending will increase this year by about 7 percent, while remaining stable for several years at about 1.3 percent of GDP.

The defense budget for this year is reported to be 1.044 trillion yuan ($ 151 billion), citing a Treasury spokesman that the spending will be used "mainly for expanding national defense and military reforms."

The expansion of China's military capabilities is causing concern in the region due to its territorial claims in the East China and South China Seas. Some diplomats said China's official military budget was 954.35 billion yuan ($ 138.4 billion) last year, but they suspect the country is understating actual military spending.