Military spending hits new record, shows study
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OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Haziran 09, 2009 00:00
STOCKHOLM -Global arms spending rises 4 percent in 2008 to a record $1.464 trillion - a rise of 45 percent from a decade ago, says a Swedish peace research group, adding total expenditure represents 2.4 percent of global gross domestic product. The US is, as expected, by far the world's biggest arms spender and for the first time China follows its lead
World military spending hit a new record in 2008, boosted by the Iraq war, the return of Russia as a global player and the emergence of China, a Swedish think tank said in its annual report yesterday.Â
World arms expenditure totaled $1.464 trillion last year, a rise of 45 percent from a decade ago and representing 2.4 percent of global gross domestic product, or $217 for every person on the planet, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute or SIPRI, said. Compared with 2007, the figure rose 4.0 percent in real terms.
"The introduction of the idea of 'the war on terrorism' has encouraged several countries to see their problems from a very militarized perspective, and is used to justify high military spending," Sam Perlo-Freeman, the main author of SIPRI's report on military expenditure, said in a statement. "At the same time, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost an extra $903 billion in increased military spending for the U.S. alone," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
The United States, as expected, continued to top the rankings by a wide margin, with its military expenditure rising 9.7 percent last year to $607 billion, the institute said. It said the U.S. accounted for nearly 42 percent of the total global arms spending of $1.46 trillion. Since 1999, U.S. defense spending has soared 67 percent in real terms to $607 billion last year.
China has become the world's second biggest military spender for the first time behind the United States, said the institute, adding that Beijing increased its spending by 10 percent to an estimated $84.9 billion last year. France narrowly overtook Britain for third place. Russia climbed to fifth place from seventh in 2007. Turkey slightly increased its military spending to an estimated $11.6 million in 2008 from $11.1 million, Stockholm-based group said.
"China is continuing to acquire both domestic and foreign arms as it seeks to equip its armed forces for conditions of modern 'informationalized' warfare," SIPRI said. Such warfare involves the use of precision weapons and high-tech information and communications technology.
’China spends relatively little’
Perlo-Freeman, said China had previously spent relatively little on its military. "They are the second biggest military spender now, that does not mean they are the second strongest military power, because a lot of other countries have been at this game for a lot longer than China," he said.
"While they are certainly seeking to increase their regional and global influence ... there is very little evidence of any hostile intent in terms of the region," he added.
The report said the security situation in Afghanistan is likely to worsen and warned that expectations for President Barack Obama's strategy for the region may be too high. "Regrettably, Afghanistan's fate over the next few years still looks to be finely balanced. Progress will continue to be slow, flawed and fragile," the report said. It warned that a hasty international exit would risk leaving the political and security situation dangerously unstable.
The report also said Obama's goal of putting less emphasis on military solutions and more on political development seemed at odds with the U.S.' decision to deploy new combat troops to Afghanistan over the next two years.
The research institute said Obama will face difficult challenges in withdrawing troops from Iraq, as well as in changing the way the U.S. deals with the international community and in pursuing nuclear disarmament.
"These and other challenges may be exacerbated by the effects of the world financial crisis as key nations find it difficult to muster the necessary political and economic will to collectively address global and regional security problems," it said.
Meanwhile, military spending in South America soared 50 percent in 2008 over the previous decade, "led by Brazil's long-term push for regional power status and Colombia's escalating spending related to its internal conflict," the think tank wrote.
Among the top 15 biggest spenders, only Germany and Japan have decreased their arms spending since 1999, with drops of 11 percent and 1.7 percent respectively last year. At the other end of the line, the 100 biggest weapons manufacturers registered total sales of $347 billion in 2007, an increase of 5 percent in real terms from 2006, according to the most recent statistics compiled by SIPRI and presented in its annual yearbook.
That list is topped by U.S. company Boeing, ahead of Britain's BAE Systems and U.S. group Lockheed Martin.
World arms expenditure totaled $1.464 trillion last year, a rise of 45 percent from a decade ago and representing 2.4 percent of global gross domestic product, or $217 for every person on the planet, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute or SIPRI, said. Compared with 2007, the figure rose 4.0 percent in real terms.
"The introduction of the idea of 'the war on terrorism' has encouraged several countries to see their problems from a very militarized perspective, and is used to justify high military spending," Sam Perlo-Freeman, the main author of SIPRI's report on military expenditure, said in a statement. "At the same time, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost an extra $903 billion in increased military spending for the U.S. alone," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
The United States, as expected, continued to top the rankings by a wide margin, with its military expenditure rising 9.7 percent last year to $607 billion, the institute said. It said the U.S. accounted for nearly 42 percent of the total global arms spending of $1.46 trillion. Since 1999, U.S. defense spending has soared 67 percent in real terms to $607 billion last year.
China has become the world's second biggest military spender for the first time behind the United States, said the institute, adding that Beijing increased its spending by 10 percent to an estimated $84.9 billion last year. France narrowly overtook Britain for third place. Russia climbed to fifth place from seventh in 2007. Turkey slightly increased its military spending to an estimated $11.6 million in 2008 from $11.1 million, Stockholm-based group said.
"China is continuing to acquire both domestic and foreign arms as it seeks to equip its armed forces for conditions of modern 'informationalized' warfare," SIPRI said. Such warfare involves the use of precision weapons and high-tech information and communications technology.
’China spends relatively little’
Perlo-Freeman, said China had previously spent relatively little on its military. "They are the second biggest military spender now, that does not mean they are the second strongest military power, because a lot of other countries have been at this game for a lot longer than China," he said.
"While they are certainly seeking to increase their regional and global influence ... there is very little evidence of any hostile intent in terms of the region," he added.
The report said the security situation in Afghanistan is likely to worsen and warned that expectations for President Barack Obama's strategy for the region may be too high. "Regrettably, Afghanistan's fate over the next few years still looks to be finely balanced. Progress will continue to be slow, flawed and fragile," the report said. It warned that a hasty international exit would risk leaving the political and security situation dangerously unstable.
The report also said Obama's goal of putting less emphasis on military solutions and more on political development seemed at odds with the U.S.' decision to deploy new combat troops to Afghanistan over the next two years.
The research institute said Obama will face difficult challenges in withdrawing troops from Iraq, as well as in changing the way the U.S. deals with the international community and in pursuing nuclear disarmament.
"These and other challenges may be exacerbated by the effects of the world financial crisis as key nations find it difficult to muster the necessary political and economic will to collectively address global and regional security problems," it said.
Meanwhile, military spending in South America soared 50 percent in 2008 over the previous decade, "led by Brazil's long-term push for regional power status and Colombia's escalating spending related to its internal conflict," the think tank wrote.
Among the top 15 biggest spenders, only Germany and Japan have decreased their arms spending since 1999, with drops of 11 percent and 1.7 percent respectively last year. At the other end of the line, the 100 biggest weapons manufacturers registered total sales of $347 billion in 2007, an increase of 5 percent in real terms from 2006, according to the most recent statistics compiled by SIPRI and presented in its annual yearbook.
That list is topped by U.S. company Boeing, ahead of Britain's BAE Systems and U.S. group Lockheed Martin.