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us defense budget

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The Trump administration has revealed plans to boost US defense spending by $54 billion while cutting funding for foreign aid.

The federal government budget plan will be submitted to Congress on March 16.

The state department, which oversees foreign affairs, faces a budget cut of about 28%.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in line for cuts to programs President Trump does not agree with, such as climate change and renewables.

These include initiatives intended to bring the US into line with its Paris Agreement climate deal obligations.

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The New York Times reported that the EPA could be cut by 31%.

The defense department budget will be boosted by 10%, and homeland security will get a 6% boost.

The budget will include a $1.5 billion request for pilot schemes to determine construction methods and locations for Donald Trump’s promised wall between the US and Mexico.

The White House wants a 30% cut from an energy department office that promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The energy department could see steep cuts for its 17 national laboratories, which conduct research into subjects including nuclear power and advanced materials for energy generation, storage and use.

There will also be a complete cut to funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the largest source of public broadcasting funding in the US.

The budget, known as a “skinny budget”, will be limited to the $1 trillion portion of the $4 trillion annual federal budget that pays for US agencies and departments.

The remainder of Donald Trump’s budget, which will include proposals on taxes, mandatory spending and deficits and projections on the economy, will not come out until May.

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China has announced the increasing of its military spending by about 7% in 2017 just days after President Donald Trump outlined a boost to the US defense budget.

The announcement was made ahead of the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing.

China has been modernizing its armed forces recently as its economy expands.

Its announced defense budget remains smaller than that of the United States. But many observers argue the real figure could be much higher.

China’s announcement marks the second consecutive year that the increase in its defense spending has been below 10% following nearly two decades at or above that figure.

It means that total spending will account for about 1.3% of China’s projected GDP in 2017, the same level as in recent years, said government spokeswoman Fu Ying.

The precise figure for China’s military spending will be provided by PM Li Keqiang when he addresses the NPC on March 5.

Earlier this week, President Trump said he was seeking to boost defense spending by 9% in his proposed budget for 2018.

China’s military build-up – and projection of naval power – has caused concerns in the region, where it has taken an increasingly assertive stance in territorial disputes.

Beijing has been building artificial islands on reefs in waters also claimed by other nations in the South China Sea.

Pictures published in 2016 show military defenses on some islands, a think-tank says.

Defending its right to build, China has said in the past that it has no intention of militarizing the islands, but has acknowledged building what it calls necessary military facilities for defensive purposes.

There have been sporadic incidents between American and Chinese ships in the South China Sea. At the end of 2016, a Chinese ship seized a US navy underwater drone off the Philippines, but later agreed to return it.

Chinese ships have also been involved in clashes and stand-offs with ships from Vietnam and the Philippines.

Japan signed off a record defense budget in December 2016 in the face of territorial disputes with China in the East China Sea and North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.

In Beijing, Fu Ying said on March 4 that China advocated “dialogue for peaceful resolutions, while at the same time, we need to possess the ability to defend our sovereignty and interests”.

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