Alexandra Marksteiner, another researcher at SIPRI, stressed the US spent mostly on research and development (Ramp;D), and several long-term projects such as modernizing the US nuclear arsenal and large-scale arms procurement.
"This reflects growing concerns over perceived threats from strategic competitors such as China and Russia, as well as the [Donald] Trump administration’s drive to bolster what it saw as a depleted US military," Marksteiner.
China increased its military expenditure by 1.9%, India 2.1%, Russia 2.5%, and the UK 2.9%.
“China stands out as the only major spender in the world not to increase its military burden in 2020 despite increasing its military expenditure, because of its positive GDP growth last year,” said Nan Tian, a senior SIPRI researcher.