Global military spending reached the highest levels ever recorded amid two wars and concerns about expanding conflict in regions around the world.
FILE - Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. Global military spending reached the highest levels ever recorded amid two wars and concerns about expanding conflict in regions around the world that has reshaped defense policy in countries and expanded military alliances.
, a global think tank, found global military spending grew by 6.8% in 2023 to a record level of $2.4 trillion. The U.S., which is also the world’s largest weapons supplier, contributed more than one-third of that spending with a defense budget of $916 billion.Israel and Hamas in the Middle East have enflamed tensions and raised security risks for countries around the world. Lingering concerns about an eventual Chinese invasion of Taiwan have also raised concerns about more conflict to come. “The unprecedented rise in military spending is a direct response to the global deterioration in peace and security,” said Nan Tian, senior researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program. “States are prioritizing military strength but they risk an action–reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape.” Ukraine was one of the biggest military spenders in 2023 as the war with Russia entered its first full year, accounting for $64.8 billion of the total. There were just seven countries that spent more than Ukraine, including Russia which spent $109 billion last year and could further ramp up spending in 2024. Ukraine has also received military aid in the form of weapons, ammunition and other resources from the U.S. and Europe to assist in its defense against a much larger and well-funded Russian military. The Biden administration says it has given Ukraine more than $44 billion in military aid since the war broke out in 2022, and other NATO allies have contributed tens of billions in weapons and other resources.for Ukraine this week, which will quickly be signed by President Joe Biden, whose administration has tried to push Congress to pass another round of funding for months while Ukrainian troops had to ration ammunition and struggled to hold off Russian advances. Multiple European countries have also ramped up defense spending as a result of the war in Ukraine due to concerns about continued Russian aggression, particularly is Moscow was successful in its mission to take over Ukraine. Defense spending increased last year by 16%, according to the report. ‘For European NATO states, the past two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed the security outlook,’ said Lorenzo Scarazzato, researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.to NATO is considered to be one of the greatest consequences of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to move forward with the invasion. Adding the two European nations to the alliance has bolstered NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea and added hundreds of miles of border between a NATO ally and Russia. China was the second-biggest spender at an estimated $296 billion, a 6% increase from the year prior. It was the 29th consecutive year-over-year increase for China, which has worked to rapidly build up its military under the rule of President Xi Jinping as part of its push to expand global influence., a small democratically governed island nation that Beijing claims as its own territory, have helped boost defense spending in Asia. Japan, Taiwan and others have worked to ramp up its military capabilities and defense spending in recent years in a trend analysts expect to continue into the future. “China is directing much of its growing military budget to boost the combat readiness of the People’s Liberation Army,’ said Xiao Liang, researcher with SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program. ‘This has prompted the governments of Japan, Taiwan and others to significantly build up their military capabilities, a trend that will accelerate further in the coming years.” The U.S. has also become growingly concerned about the potential military conflict with China over Taiwan and the build-up of Beijing’s military. A select committee in the House has pushed Washington to take a more aggressive approach toward China with economic sanctions and other methods to decouple from reliance on the world’s second-largest economy as policymakers on both sides of the aisle grow more wary of China.
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