The spending rose in 2015 to touch nearly $1.7 trillion driven mainly by conflicts, including the war against ISIS.
For the first time since 2011, global military spending rose in 2015 to touch nearly $1.7 trillion driven mainly by conflicts, including the war against ISIS, the Saudi-led action in Yemen and Chinese expansion in South China Sea even as India's expenditure on arms remained ahead of countries like France, Germany and Japan.
The study by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) also noted that Russia's annexation of Crimea and support to Ukrainian separatists also accounted for the spending having gone up by one per cent in real terms as compared to 2014.
"World military expenditure rose by 1% in 2015. The first increase in military spending since 2011, it reflects continuing growth in Asia and Oceania, Central and Eastern Europe, and some Middle Eastern states," the institute said.
It added that the US remained by far the world's largest spender in 2015 despite its defence expenditure falling by 2.4% to $596 billion.
China's expenditure rose by 7.4% to $215 billion while Saudi Arabia's grew by 5.7% to $87.2 billion, making it the world's third largest spender. Russia's spending increased by 7.5% to $66.4 billion.
India's share was 3.1%, ahead of France (3%), Japan (2.4%) and Israel (1%).
Incidentally, India is in talks with all three countries for acquiring new military platforms running into billions of dollars.
"The headline estimate for total world military spending for 2015 amounts to $1.676 billion, or about 2.3 per cent of total world gross domestic product (GDP) often referred to as the 'military burden'. It is a sum that many people would consider to be too high," SIPRI said.
A combination of high oil prices and new oil discoveries and exploitation has contributed to a surge in military spending in many countries in the past decade.
However, the crash in oil prices that started in 2014 has begun to reverse this trend in many oil revenue-dependent countries. Further cuts in spending are expected in 2016, the report said.
Military spending in Asia and Oceania rose by 5.4% in 2015 and was heavily influenced by China.
"Heightening tensions between China and various countries in the region contributed to substantial increases in expenditure by Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam and triggered the start of a reversal of the long-term downward trend in Japan's military spending," it said.
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