bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

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 US$1.9 trillion on their militaries in 2019, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Compared to 2018, that represented an annual growth of 3.6 per cent, the largest spending growth since 2010.
“Military spending has reached the highest point since the end of the Cold War,” Nan Tian, a researcher at SIPRI, told AFP.
Driving the increase are the world’s largest spenders, headed by the US, which spent US$732 billion in 2019, a 5.3 per cent increase, alone accounting for 38 per cent of global spending.

2019 marked the second year of growth in US military spending after seven years of decline.
For the first time, two Asian countries were among the top three, with China and India spending an estimated US$261 billion (up 5.1 per cent) and US$71.1 billion (up 6.8 per cent) respectively.
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.
China’s ascent also in part helped explain India’s rise.
China’s fiscal first quarter revenue down over 14 per cent
“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.
According to SIPRI, other notable developments included Germany, which increased spending by 10 per cent in 2019 to US$49.3 billion, the largest percentual increase of all the top 15 spenders.
Germany’s increased spending could in part be explained by an increased perception of threat from Russia, according to the report’s authors.

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 health care and education.
“It’s highly likely that this will really have an impact on military spending,” Tian said.
Looking at the historical data, that fall in spending would however likely not last, according to Tian who recalled the financial crisis of 2008, when military spending fell in subsequent years as countries, especially in Europe, imposed austerity measures.
“We could be looking at one to three years of declining spending and then an uptick again in the years to come,” Tian told AFP.


‘Japan’s neighbourhood more dangerous’? Fears over Chinese land purchases

Will a firm US stance on Diaoyu Islands be too ‘provocative’ for Japan?

Biden signs Pentagon budget bill that extends sanctions on Hong Kong officials

Russia says cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after blast, 2 missing

Defence

Military spending surged to US$1.9 trillion in 2019, biggest increase in a decade

Flight deck crew members direct a French Rafale fighter jet on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean sea. Photo: reuters

Russian Air Force Beriev A-50 early warning aircraft and Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighter fly in Kaliningrad, Russia April 25, 2020. Picture taken April 25, 2020. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar

A member of the military tests a person at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Chessington, Britain, April 26, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville

China’s fiscal first quarter revenue declines over 14 per cent, weighed down by coronavirus, tax relief

Fiscal expenditures for the January-March period fell 5.7 per cent from a year earlier to 5.528 trillion yuan, the ministry said. Photo: Reuters

Fiscal expenditures for the January-March period fell 5.7 per cent from a year earlier to 5.528 trillion yuan, the ministry said. Photo: EPA-EFE

US military operations in South China Sea increase risk of confrontation, think tank says

The USS John C. Stennis is one of three US aircraft carriers that sailed through the South China Sea last year. Photo: MCSA Justin Rayburn/Navy

News

World

Europe


Before Covid-19 struck, the world’s militaries increased spending by 3.6 per cent
The US was the largest spender, accounting for 38 per cent of the global total



Before Covid-19 struck, the world’s militaries increased spending by 3.6 per cent.


Military spending surged to US$1.9 trillion in 2019, biggest increase in a decade

Before Covid-19 struck, the world’s militaries increased spending by 3.6 per cent The US was the largest spender, accounting for 38 per cent of the global total

Before Covid-19 struck, the world’s militaries increased spending by 3.6 per cent

The US was the largest spender, accounting for 38 per cent of the global total