China's Xi ramps up military spending in face of worried region

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - China announced its biggest rise in military spending in three years on Wednesday, a strong signal from President Xi Jinping that Beijing is not about to back away from its growing assertiveness in Asia, especially in disputed waters.

The government said it would increase the defence budget by 12.2 percent this year to 808.23 billion yuan ($131.57 billion), partly to develop more high-tech weapons and to beef up coastal and air defences.