UPDATE 3-China defense spending gets mild boost amid economic caution

* China’s 2021 defense spending to rise 6.8% year-on-year * Sixth year in row of single digit increase * Premier Li says to enhance capacity to protect country * Defence spending widely believed to be under-reported (Adds details, analyst and state media comments) BEIJING, March 5 (Reuters) – China’s 2021 defense spending will rise 6.8% from 2020, up just slightly from last year’s budget increase and broadly tracking the government’s modest growth forecast, as the world’s second-largest economy emerges from the pandemic’s fallout. Premier Li Keqiang pledged that efforts to strengthen the People’s Liberation Army, which is developing an array…