GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS SPARKING GLOBAL ARMS RACE; HOW MUCH HAS INDIA SPENT?
Conflicts are on the rise, pushing up global military spending. In the wake of escalating conflicts worldwide, global military expenditure has surged to a record high of $2,440 billion. For the first time, defence spending has risen across all five regions: Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, according to the Sweden-based think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The rise in global military spending in 2023 can be attributed primarily to the ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating geopolitical tensions in Asia, Oceania and the Middle East.
In India, which has a challenging neighbourhoodâChina on the northern front and Pakistan in the westâhas enhanced its military spending by 44 per cent since 2014 (the past decade). India's increased military spending reflects its strategic priorities and concerns about security challenges vis a vis Beijing and Islamabad.
India has spent $83.6 billion in 2023 on arms, up 4.2 per cent from 2022, taking New Delhi to the fourth position among the highest spenders globally. Since 2020, Indian and Chinese militaries have been at loggerheads on the Himalayan frontiers, with unprecedented deployment of men and machines against each other. Multiple rounds of military and diplomatic level negotiations have not yielded much as New Delhi has been insisting on restoring the pre-April 2020 status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border with China.
SIPRI believes the increase in India's military spending was mainly a result of growing personnel and operational costs, which made up almost 80 per cent of the total military budget in 2023. This aligns with the Narendra Modi government's priority to strengthen the operational readiness of armed forces amid ongoing tensions with China and Pakistan.
In comparison, capital outlays to fund military procurement remained relatively stable, at around 22 per cent of the budget in 2023. About 75 per cent of these outlays were not towards domestic equipment. The continued shift towards domestic procurement reflects India's goal of becoming self-reliant in arms development and production.
The two top spenders were the United States and China, who jointly account for approximately half of the world's military outlay. The five biggest spenders in 2023 were the United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, which together accounted for 61 per cent of world's military spending.
SIPRI estimated that the US and China remained the top two biggest spenders in the world and both increased their military spending in 2023. US spending was $916 billion while Chinese spending was an estimated $296 billion.
China's rising military expenditure drove up spending by neighbours. China, the world's second-highest military spender, allocated an estimated $296 billion to the military in 2023, an increase of 6 per cent from 2022. This was the 29th consecutive year-on-year rise in China's military expenditure. China accounted for half of the total military spending across Asia and Oceania. Several of China's neighbours have linked their spending increases to China's rising military expenditure.
Japan allocated $50.2 billion to its military in 2023, which was 11 per cent more than in 2022. Taiwan's military expenditure also grew by 11 per cent in 2023, reaching $16.6 billion.
Together, the top 10 military spenders in 2023 accounted for almost three quarters (74 per cent) of the world's total spendingâ$1,799 billion, which was $105 billion more than the previous year. In 2023, all countries in the top 10 increased their military spending. The biggest percentage increase in this group was in Ukraine. Its military spending went up by 51 per cent to $64.8 billion and it moved from the 11th highest spender in 2022 to the eight in 2023.
Russia's military spending grew by 24 per cent in 2023 to an estimated $109 billion. This was equivalent to 5.9 per cent of Russia's GDP. Ukraine became the eighth highest military spender in 2023, increasing its spending by 51 per cent to $64.8 billion, or 37 per cent of GDP.
"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 Programme. "States are prioritising military strength but risk an action-reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape."
2024-04-25T15:49:24Z dg43tfdfdgfd