According to a recent study, global military spending increased by four percent last year. That is the highest increase in ten years, according to the report of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which was presented today at the Munich Security Conference.
The two countries with the world’s highest military budgets, the United States and China, each invested 6.6 percent more in their armed forces than in 2018. US spending grew by $ 53.4 billion – roughly equivalent to the UK’s total defense budget, the sixth largest budget worldwide.
Potential conflicts
The IISS also pointed to increasing tensions between the major powers and an “heightened sense of threat”. Among other things, the termination of the INF disarmament agreement between the USA and Russia and the rise of China contributed to this. Regional conflicts such as those in Ukraine and Libya also contributed to the development, as did the presentation of new weapons by China and Russia.
According to the study, the increase in military spending in Europe was 4.2 percent. The reasons for this include the „uncertainties regarding Russia,“ said IISS director John Chipman.
