Not only Gaza and the war in Ukraine: also the crisis around Taiwan drives the global arms race. The 6.8% growth represents “the largest year-on-year increase since 2009.” China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia among the top five in the world along with the United States. Beijing's investments are affecting other Asia-Pacific nations, especially Japan and Taiwan. Israel recorded a 24% increase.
Milan () – In 2023, the world military spending will experience the highest growth in the last decade, reaching an all-time high of $2.4 trillion, driven by tensions in the Asia-Pacific (Taiwan) and the conflict between Israel and Hamas (as well as Iran). These are the figures contained in the latest report published today by the Sipri (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, ), from which another interesting fact emerges: the largest geographical increases affected Asia, the Middle East and, in part, Europe, due to the war between Russia and Ukraine that was taking place. has lasted for more than two years.
“Total military spending is at an all-time high,” Nan Tian, senior researcher at Sipri, told AFP, according to whom “we have seen an increase in spending in the five geographic regions.” In numerical terms, the increase in military spending is 6.8% and represents “the largest year-on-year increase since 2009,” according to the expert. “[Este aumento] It is a reflection of the deterioration,” he adds, “of peace and security in the world,” also because “there is no region in which the situation has improved.”
In terms of countries, the top five for military spending in the Sipri annual report are: the United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia.
In Asia, the most evident fact is the driving role played by China, whose substantial increase in military spending has also fueled the arms race of its neighbors, in particular Taiwan (which fears an attack from Beijing) and Japan, which has shelved decades of pacifism. Beijing, the second country in the world in terms of money spent behind the United States, has allocated about $296 billion to the armed forces in 2023, an increase of 6% compared to 2022. This is the 29th year-on-year increase consecutive of Chinese military spending, for a nation that represents half of the total military spending of the Asia and Oceania region,
“China is allocating a large part of its growing military budget to increasing the combat readiness of the People's Liberation Army,” explains Xiao Liang, a researcher at Sipri. “This has prompted countries like Japan and Taiwan,” he continues, “to significantly improve their military capabilities, a trend that will further accelerate in the coming years.” Specifically, Tokyo has allocated $50.2 billion to the army in 2023, 11% more than in 2022. Similar growth for Taiwan, with a figure of 11% in 2023, reaching $16.6 billion. The world's fourth largest spending country, India, saw an increase of 4.3% to $83.6 billion.
In addition to tensions in the Taiwan Strait, a “rogue” island that Beijing considers part of its territory and is willing to annex even at the cost of a military operation in which the United States is (more than) an interested spectator, are the It is wars in the Middle East that drive military spending: from the conflict in Gaza unleashed by Israel against Hamas, in response to the terrorist attack of October 7, to the most recent confrontations between the Jewish State and Iran with ballistic missiles and military drones. Hence the estimated increase for the region of 9% in 2023, for a total investment of 200 billion dollars, again the highest in the last decade.
Driving the arms race is Saudi Arabia, among the few nations not engaged – at least officially – in a war or military confrontation and, on the contrary, among those most interested in a relaxation of tension between Israel and the Islamic Republic. Riyadh's spending has increased by 4.3% in 2023, reaching $75.8 billion or 7.1% of its gross domestic product (GDP). Israel's, the second largest in the region after Saudi Arabia, grew 24% to $27.5 billion, driven largely by the offensive in Gaza. “The sharp increase in military spending in the Middle East in 2023 reflects the rapid evolution of the situation in the region: from the improvement of diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries in recent years, to the outbreak of a full-scale war in Gaza and the fears of a regional conflict,” explains Diego Lopes da Silva, regional expert at Sipri. Last year, Iran was the fourth country in the region in military spending, with 10.3 billion dollars and an increase in the Pasdaran quota from 27% in 2019 to 37% in 2023,
