aConflicts are escalating in Ukraine and the Middle East, and countries around the world are increasing military spending. Total global defense spending will reach $2.2 trillion in 2023, up 9% from the previous year, a new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank revealed on Tuesday. The IISS estimates that the main drivers of this spending increase are Russia’s continued war in Ukraine and deteriorating relations between the United States and China.
read more: US general’s prediction of war with China ‘2025’ risks making worst fears come true
In the Indo-Pacific, geopolitical tensions between the two superpowers have led the region’s major powers to move increasingly closer to either the United States or China, with both countries taking steps seen as preparations for potential conflict. It is being strengthened.
The total defense budget for the United States and its allies Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines increased by approximately 7.4% from 2022 to 2023, from approximately $984 billion to more than $1.5 trillion. The Philippines was the only country to cut its military budget. But over the past year, the Southeast Asian nation has expanded its cooperation with the U.S. military and strategically elevated its role in the region, amid an escalating conflict with China over the disputed South China Sea.
The biggest increase among America’s regional partners was Taiwan, which increased its defense budget by about $3 billion (20%) amid concerns about Chinese aggression.
“For Asia, defense spending has generally increased in line with economic growth over the past decade,” Fenella McGarty, senior research fellow in defense economics at the IISS, said at a press conference for the Military Balance 2024 report. Stated. “But in recent years we have certainly seen strategic factors come into play, recognizing the need for more spending to maintain regional security and counter Chinese influence in particular. There is.”
China, on the other hand, has found allies in North Korea and Russia, two increasingly isolated countries that denounce the Western-led international order and invest heavily in the military. Only China outperforms its neighbors. According to the IISS report, China’s defense spending was $219.5 billion, accounting for 43% of total defense spending in Asia last year. Additionally, although North Korea’s defense spending is not made public, China and Russia combined increased military investment by 2.6% last year, from approximately $416 billion in 2022 to $427 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, North Korea will conduct regular missile tests in 2023. More overt alliances and increasingly hostile rhetoric also indicate a focus on building military power.
Experts have previously said that the United States’ prioritization of diplomatic and defense relations in Asia does not necessarily signal the arrival of an Asian equivalent of NATO, but rather that Russia, China, and North Korea in the Indo-Pacific. It states that conducting joint exercises is not necessarily, but is inevitably, a prelude to war, The IISS said China had demonstrated “increased power projection capabilities,” which led to Strengthen cooperation between the United States and its regional allies to serve as a “counterbalance.”
read more: China is testing how hard it can push in the South China Sea before someone pushes back
Carl Dewey, research fellow for defense and military analysis at the IISS, said defense spending on “serious” security issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea could increase, but the region’s largest economies are taking a more proactive approach. He said he was investing in the military. “What we see there is the long-term positioning of both countries’ defense economies to counter long-term threats.”