1、Welcome to the launch of The Military Balance 2019,the annual assessment of global military capabilities and defence economics from the IISS.Joining me to answer your questions today are Dr Kori Schake,Professor Franois Heisbourg,Dr Lucie Braud-Sudreau,Douglas Barrie and Meia Nouwens.This 2019 editi
2、on is published 60 years after The Military Balance first appeared as an 11-page pamphlet in 1959.The international security environment is now perhaps even more uncertain.Great-power competition once again dominates contemporary Western policy discussions,but today it is not only Moscow that comman
3、ds attention.China is a concern as it introduces increasingly advanced military systems and pursues developments designed to further improve its armed forces.CHINAChinas military modernisation is striking both for its ambition and speed of development.Its defence spending has increased relentlessly.
4、In the ten years to 2017,Chinas official defence budget grew on average by 8%in real terms.Despite slower economic growth,between 2017 and 2018 the defence budget still grew by nearly 6%in real terms.Chinese naval capability is entering a new phase,designed to facilitate long-distance missions and i