China massively increased security spending in 2017 in the far-western region of Xinjiang, where hundreds of thousands of Muslims are alleged to have been detained, a new report says.
Spending in areas "that explain nearly all security-related facility construction" rose by 213% between 2016 and 2017, said the US-based Jamestown Foundation.
Satellite data shows a spike in new security facilities in 2017.
China says they are training centers.
But according to budget data reviewed by German academic Adrian Zenz for the report, spending on vocational training in Xinjiang actually decreased by 7% in 2017.
Spending on security-related construction, meanwhile, increased by nearly 20bn yuan ($2.9bn).
Xinjiang's budget figures "reflect patterns of spending consistent with the construction and operation of highly secure political re-education camps designed to imprison hundreds of thousands of [Uighurs] with the minimal due process," Mr. Zenz said.
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