Western countries will have to spend $10 trillion on arms if they want to catch up with Russia - Bloomberg
A new global arms race is gaining momentum
In March, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that this year, defence spending by European allies would reach 2% of GDP for the first time, totalling $470 billion. However, according to security experts, to ensure effective defence and deterrence policy, NATO countries need to increase their military budgets to the level of the Cold War, or about 4% of GDP, Bloomberg writes.
If the G7 countries (the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan) want to reach this level, they will need an additional $10 trillion over the next decade, Bloomberg Economics believes.
So far, only Russia, which is at war, can afford such military spending among the big countries. Last year, it spent 4.4% of GDP on defence and security, and the budget for 2024 allocates more than 10.7 trillion rubles (about 6% of GDP) for this purpose.
Among NATO countries, Poland incurred the highest expenditures in 2023 (3.9%), while the US spent 3.3%. South Korea, always ready for a confrontation with its northern neighbour, spent 2.8%, and Iran, which provides Russia with drones, spent 2.2%.
China's expenditures are relatively small (1.3% of GDP), but this year they will grow by 7.2% (the highest in the last five years). Chinese President Xi Jinping decisively proclaims his intention to conquer Taiwan. According to John Aquilino, the commander of US forces in the Indian Pacific region, China will be ready to invade the island by 2027.
Last year, European NATO members and Canada increased defence spending for the ninth consecutive year – by an unprecedented 11%. According to Stoltenberg, two-thirds of the countries reached the 2% of GDP target, compared to only three at the start of this initiative in 2014 and 11 last year.
Estonia has proposed that European countries introduce a defence tax, which would increase spending to 3% of GDP.
Background. As a reminder, large companies in Taiwan have begun to develop contingency plans in case of a Chinese attack on the island.
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