Global spending on weapons now totals more than US$1.7 trillion, and Russia has overtaken Britain and France to take third place in the world league table, according to research figures released yesterday.
While military expenditure fell last year in most Western countries, including the US, which is facing serious budget deficits, Russia and China have continued to increase their spending on weapons — by more than 9 percent and 6 percent respectively last year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The US remains by far the biggest military spender, with a defense budget of US$711 billion last year, followed by China, which spent an estimated US$143 billion on its armed forces last year. China has increased its military spending by 170 percent in real terms since 2002, the leading research body says.
Russia spent nearly US$72 billion on arms last year, overtaking Britain (US$62.7 billion) and France (US$62.5 billion) according to the institute. It says Russia is planning further increases, with draft budgets showing a 53 percent rise in real terms up to 2014.
Russia’s growing expenditure was mainly driven by the country’s aim to replace 70 percent of its Soviet-era military equipment with modern weaponry by 2020, SIPRI said, adding that it expects the Kremlin to increase its military spending in coming years.
”They are clearly putting very high priority on building up their military power again,” said Sam Perlo-Freeman, head of SIPRI’s Military Expenditure Project.
He said Russia lacks important modern communications technology for the battlefield and wants to hedge against the US’ overwhelming military might even if there is no current hostility between Russia and NATO.
However, SIPRI adds that many analysts are doubtful whether the industry will be able to carry out such ambitious plans after decades of stagnation after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
China’s increased military spending has caused concern among its neighbors and the US. The recent announcement of a US “pivot” toward Asia is in part the response to such concerns, SIPRI says.
“China’s extensive and growing trade relations with the countries in its neighborhood have been marred by disputes — eg the border dispute with India, a dispute over the Senkaku [Diaoyutai (釣魚台)] Islands with Japan, and contested maritime borders with several nations in the South China Sea — all of which have led to increased tensions,” it says.
Chinese military technology still lags behind the US’, SIPRI said.
“The US is still going to maintain for the foreseeable future overwhelming military dominance,” Perlo-Freeman said. “The US still outspends China five to one, and Russia’s spending is half of China’s.”
However, the report says talk of an arms race in the region may be premature, as both data and analysis reveal a mixed pattern of trends in military expenditure and arms acquisition, with China far from being the only driving factor.
Additional reporting by AP
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2