China And India Join Top Three Military Spenders

Global military expenditure saw its biggest uptick in a decade in 2019, researchers said on 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," said Nan Tian, a researcher at SIPRI.

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.

"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.

The world's top five spenders, which also included Russia and Saudi Arabia, together accounted for over 60 per cent of total military expenditure. (AFP)