WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - US military spending grew by 4.6 per cent, to reach $649 billion in 2018, according to a new report.
This rise, for the first time since 2010, reflects the Trump administration's defense policy, says the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The United States' military expenditure remained by far the largest in the world, which almost equals that of the next eight largest-spending countries combined. 'The increase in US spending was driven by the implementation of new arms procurement programs under the Trump administration from 2017,' says Dr Aude Fleurant, the director of the SIPRI AMEX program.
The five biggest spenders in 2018 were the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, India and France, which together accounted for 60 per cent of global military spending.
The comprehensive annual update of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database shows that total global military spending rose for the second consecutive year in 2018, to the highest level since 1988.
Total world military expenditure rose to $1822 billion in 2018, an increase of 2.6 per cent from 2017.
This is mainly the result of significant increases in spending by two countries - the US and China, the report points out.
China increased its military expenditure by 5 per cent to $250 billion in 2018. This was the 24th consecutive year of increase in Chinese military expenditure. Its spending in 2018 was almost 10 times higher than in 1994, and accounted for 14 per cent of world military spending.
Military expenditure in Asia and Oceania has risen every year since 1988. At $507 billion, military spending in the region accounted for 28 per cent of the global total in 2018, which is a three-fold increase from the last three decades.
In 2018 India increased its military spending by 3.1 per cent to $66.5 billion, while its archrival Pakistan's military expenditure grew by 11 per cent.
South Korean military expenditure was $43.1 billion in 2018, an increase of 5.1 per cent.
'The tensions between countries in Asia as well as between China and the USA are major drivers for the continuing growth of military spending in the region,' says Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with the SIPRI AMEX program.
Several countries in Central and Eastern Europe made large increases in their military expenditure in 2018 largely due to growing perceptions of a threat from Russia, the report says.
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