Opinion | The challenges that drive up military spending – in Asia-Pacific and beyond
- Collin Koh writes that military operations in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere plausibly will have to do more with less in the coming years.
According to the latest data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military spending in 2018 rose 2.6 per cent year on year to US$1.82 trillion.
The United States, China, Saudi Arabia, India and France were the top five spenders, accounting for 60 per cent of the total. Spending by the US grew 4.6 per cent from 2017 to US$649 billion, while China increased its expenditure by 5 per cent to US$250 billion – a nearly tenfold increase since 1994 – making it the world’s second-largest military spender.
By comparison, military spending in South America rose by 3.1 per cent, mainly reflecting an increase in Brazil, while expenditure in Africa and the Middle East fell by 8.4 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively.
Military expenditure in Asia and Oceania totalled US$507 billion in 2018, or 28 per cent of the world’s total, up from just 9 per cent two decades ago.
SIPRI’s latest data would almost certainly invoke the ever-popular calls about an arms race taking place in the Asia-Pacific.