MOSCOW, Apr 25 - RIA Novosti. Record volumes of global military spending are associated with unprecedented geopolitical tensions, as well as the emergence of fundamentally new types of military equipment, a well-known military expert Alexei Leonkov told RIA Novosti on Monday.
So he commented on the report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), according to which military spending in the world last year for the first time exceeded a record $ 2 trillion. The top five countries with the largest defense budgets in 2021 included the United States, China, India, Britain and Russia, which together accounted for 62% of global military spending.
"If we name the reasons for such large-scale global spending on weapons, it is due to the tense international military-political situation. The United States is rocking the world boat with its behavior and creating many threats around the world," Leonkov said.
The expert called the emergence of new types of weapons capable of "zeroing out" the armed forces of many countries another reason for the increase in armament costs. According to Leonkov, this factor forces many states to "urgently" modernize their armies.
Speaking about Russia's neighbors in the top 5 SIPRI - India and China, the agency interlocutor noted that the increase in New Delhi's spending on armaments is associated with the ambitious Make in India program, which requires impressive investments, as well as the planned rearmament of all types of the armed forces of this country.
"As for China, it should be remembered that Beijing has announced its plans to increase its nuclear potential. In addition, a missile attack warning system is being developed, including its space echelon," Leonkov explained.