Aug. 9, 2012 - Updated 21:01 UTC (06:01 JST) | NHK News Singapore celebrated its 47th anniversary of independence from Malaysia on Thursday with a military parade. Singapore has sharply increased its defense expenditures amid China's buildup of its naval forces. Singapore's defense spending is at nearly 10 billion dollars this year. That's 50 percent higher than a decade ago, and consumes about a quarter of the nation's budget. Singapore has strengthened defense cooperation with the United States, which is shifting its military focus to the Asia-Pacific region. The island-state has agreed to allow US naval vessels to be based in the country. Singapore is not alone in boosting defense outlays. Other Southeast Asian nations such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand have rapidly increased defense spending to compete with China's military buildup.