A recent report from Britain’s defense consulting firm IHS Jane’s estimated that China’s defense spending for 2014 would amount to around $148 billion, an increase of 6.3 percent from a year ago.

In the report on the world’s defense budgets, China ranked second after the U.S. whose defense budget for this year is estimated at $574.9 billion, a decrease of 1.3 percent from last year.

China’s defense budget reaches the combined budgets of the three major traditional military powers in Europe ― the U.K., Germany and France. The rise in China’s military spending has raised concerns that Beijing could become more assertive in its pursuit of national interests.