Russia and China Increase Military Spending

MOSCOW, May 09, 2015 (Xinhua) — The guard of honor of the three services of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) take part in the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2015. (Xinhua/Jia Yuchen) (wf)

Stockholm International Peace Research Institution (SIPRI) published a report about increased military expenditure in 2015.

The world’s total military expenditure was $1.7 trillion in 2015. It increased 1 percent from the previous year. The five biggest spenders are the US, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the UK.

According to the report, the US remains the biggest spender in the world with $596 billion. China ranked second in the general list with its $215 billion on defense.

Saudi Arabia occupies the Russia’s previous rank in 2014 with $87.2 billion and Russia is fourth with $66.4. UK, India, France, Japan, Germany and South Korea are ranked respectively after Russia.

The military spending rose by 5.4 percent, reaching $436 billion in Asia and Oceania.

The dramatic fluctuation in the oil prices negatively affected the oil producers, but countries such as Algeria, Azerbaijan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam continued to spend money for defense.

Some Asian countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Japan and Vietnam reflected the political crisis in the region, especially the recent developments in China and North Korea. Thus, their defense budget increased, according to SIPRI.