Record spending on weapons –

COPENHAGEN (EFE).— The war in Ukraine and the increase in geopolitical tensions last year caused the largest increase in global military spending since 2009, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in a report. .

Investment in weapons reached a record figure of 2.44 trillion dollars, 6.8% more in real terms than in 2022 and 2.3% of global gross domestic product (GDP).

“The unprecedented increase in military spending is a direct response to the global deterioration in peace and security. States are prioritizing military force, but risk an action-reaction spiral in a more volatile geopolitical and security landscape,” the report notes.

The United States maintains its incontestable dominance with an investment of 916 billion dollars, 2.3% more, and 37% of global spending (three times more than China, second on the list), as well as 68% of that of the 31 member countries of NATO.

The study highlights the increased defense investment of European NATO countries, which now represents 28% of that of the entire Alliance, the highest level in a decade, with eleven of them above the commitment of 2% of GDP.

Among them Poland, which, with a year-on-year increase of 75%, recorded the largest annual increase in Europe.

Joint spending by NATO members amounted to $1.34 trillion, 55% of the world’s total.

“The last two years of war in Ukraine have fundamentally changed European states’ perspectives on security. This change in threat perception is reflected in directing increasing parts of GDP to military spending,” writes Sipri.

Russia, third in the world ranking, allocated an estimated figure of 109 billion dollars, 4.5% globally and 24% more year-on-year, which also represents 5.9% of its GDP.

Ukraine, the world’s eighth-largest arms investor, increased its spending 51% to $64.8 billion, a third of its GDP.

The $35 billion in military aid received by kyiv narrowed the gap with Russia, and total Ukrainian military spending was 91% of Moscow’s.

IChina spent nearly $296 billion, 6% more and 12% of the total, which accounted for half of the investment in the Asia-Oceania region and dragged down other countries, according to Sipri.

Thus, Japan (tenth) increased its military spending by 11% and Taiwan by 11%.

The Middle East recorded the largest increase in a decade, 9%, with Saudi Sa

“The large increase in military spending in the Middle East in 2023 reflects the rapidly changing situation in the region, from the improvement of diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries in recent years to the outbreak of a major war in Gaza and fear of conflict. regional”, says Sipri.

The report highlights that increased crime levels have in turn generated greater use of military force once morest criminal gangs in Central America and the Caribbean, which translated into an increase in spending of 54% in 2023.

In the Dominican Republic there was a 14% year-on-year increase in response to worsening gang violence in Haiti.

“The use of the military to suppress gang violence has been a growing trend in the region for years, as governments are either unable to solve the problem with conventional means or prefer immediate and often more violent responses,” Sipri points out.

Brazil remains the regional leader in South America, and the eighteenth country worldwide, with spending of 22.9 billion dollars, 3.1% more.