Military spending saw biggest increase in a decade in 2019: Study

Military vehicles, carrying DF-17, roll down as members of a Chinese military honour guard march during the parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Communist China in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. Image Credit: APStockholm: Global military expenditure saw its biggest uptick in a decade in 2019, researchers said Monday, marking the first year two Asian countries were among the top three spenders. The world’s nations spent a combined $1.9 trillion on their militaries in 2019, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). “Military spending has reached the highest point since the end of the Cold War,” Nan Tian, a researcher at SIPRI, told AFP. While Chinese expenditure over the past 25 years has closely followed the country’s rapid economic expansion, their investments also reflect their ambition of a “world class military”. “China has openly stated that they want to essentially compete with the US as a military superpower,” Tian said. “India’s tensions and rivalry with both Pakistan and China are among the major drivers for its increased military spending,” SIPRI researcher Siemon Wezeman said in a statement. The world’s top five spenders, which also included Russia and Saudi Arabia, together accounted for over 60 per cent of total military expenditure. While Tian noted that “military spending growth has accelerated in recent years,” he also told AFP that this trend could be reversed as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic, and its economic fallout. As the world heads for a potential global recession, Tian argued that governments will have to weigh military spending against other sectors, such as healthcare and education.