China spends three times more than India on its defence, how will it impact world politics, geostrategic scenario?

Notwithstanding the economic slowdown and the imminent trade war with the US, China has allocated $245 billion for defence in its budget. This is 7.2% of its GDP, while India allocated just 1.9% of its GDP for defence in its Union Budget 2025. It is more than three times of Indian defence budget of $79 billion. However, the real defence budget of China is more than that as more than 40% of its defence expenditure is masked as other expenses. It is second only to the US, which will spend more than $900 billion on its military this year.

India-China Defence Preparedness

If compared to India, the gap is evern wider considering the fact that New Delhi has to maintain a huge army of 14 lakh personnel and spend a massive amount on their wages, pension and other benefits. 

It leaves just 25% of the defence budget that can be spent on modernisation of the armed forces. 

If media reports are to be believed, the Indian defence establishment is left with little leeway with only 30 fighter squadrons being operational at present, while it has sanctioned 42.5 squadrons. 

PLA Much Ahead Of Indian Army

The hands of Indian defence strategists are tied as New Delhi is still struggling to ramp up the production of its indigenously developed fourth-generation Tejas fighters, while Beijing has already deployed its fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighters along the Indian border. 

Worse, in an attempt to surround India from all sides, China has adopted the strategy of arming its all-weather friend Pakistan and is most likely to provide it with 40 J-35A fifth-generation jets.

US President Donald Trump has offered India stealth fighter F-35, which is very expensive and its manufacturer Lockheed Martin will take years before it can deliver it to India.

Russia has offered its stealth fighter Su-57, but it is not considered the best in the international market and defence experts are upset over the fact that it met with an accident and crashed in 2022. 

China Has More Nuclear Warheads

The disparity in the field of nuclear capability is also increasing with Beijing stockpiling more than 600 warheads, which may go beyond 1,000 by 2035. On the other hand, India has just 160-170 nuclear warheads in its arsenal. 

Since Xi Jinping became Chinese President in 2013, the communist country has increased its defence budget from Yuan 720 billion yuan in 2013 to Yuan 1.78 trillion ($245.65 billion) in 2025. 

The Chinese President, who is also the Chairman of the Military Commission, has ordered to complete of the modernisation of the People's Liberation Army by 2035 with new missiles, ships, submarines and surveillance technologies.

However, government owned news agency Xinhua said, "China’s development strengthens the world’s forces for peace, and the country will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism no matter what stage of development it reaches."