*STOCKHOLM: The United States’ military spending has risen for the firsttime in seven years, reflecting Trump administration policy, according to anew report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace ResearchInstitute.*
Worldwide military spending also rose by 2.6 percent to $1.8 trillionoverall last year, SIPRI calculated.
It was the second year running the global figure has risen, bringingmilitary spending to its highest level since 1988.
“The increase in US spending was driven by the implementation from 2017 ofnew arms procurement programmes under the Trump administration,” said AudeFleurant, director of SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX)programme.
The US figure alone of $649 billion was as much as the next eight highestmilitary budgets.
But Chinese, as well as US spending, helped push the overall spendingfigures for the year higher, said the report.
China’s spending has risen 83 percent since 2009, bringing it up to thesecond place, ahead of Saudi Arabia, India — which is modernising its armedforces — and France.
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China has spent 1.9 percent of its gross domestic output (GDP) on militaryspending since 2013.
Russia meanwhile dropped out of the top five spenders, with its militarybudget declining since 2016, said the report.
Western countries’ economic sanctions against Russia, in place since 2014because of its conflict with Ukraine, have hit the country’s militarybudget.
In Ukraine itself meanwhile, military spending rose 21 percent on theprevious year to $4.8 billion, SIPRI calculated. -APP/AFP
