China, India among top 3 military spenders

Global military expenditure saw its biggest uptick in a decade in 2019, researchers said yesterday, marking the first year two Asian countries were among the top three spenders.

The world's nations spent a combined $1.9 trillion (1.78 trillion euros) 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 percent, the largest spending growth since 2010.

"Military spending has reached the highest point since the end of the Cold War," Nan Tian, a researcher at SIPRI, told AFP.

Driving the increase are the world's largest spenders, headed by the US, which spent $732 billion in 2019, a 5.3 percent increase, alone accounting for 38 percent 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 $261 billion (up 5.1 percent) and $71.1 billion (up 6.8 percent) respectively.

"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 in a statement.

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