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New arms race must be checked
No amount of military spending by emerging powers can solve essential issues like poverty.
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:36 March 5, 2008
An Asian arms race is under way and it looks more like a marathon than a sprint. China is planning to increase military spending by nearly 18 per cent this year, to $59 billion.
This follows increased expenditure by India and Japan. Military spending in Asia is still just a fraction of what the US spends annually but it is increasing, especially among emerging economies. Nor is this confined to Asia.
Globally, military expenditure and the arms trade account for the largest spending in the world at over $1 trillion annually. In the short term, at least, this is likely to increase dramatically as space is no longer the final frontier but is considered increasingly by military planners as the first line of defence.
Apart from the obvious risks involved in expanding arsenals, such expenditure diverts money away from tackling the scourges of poverty and disease which no amount of military hardware can eradicate.
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