The report points out that the conflict in Afghanistan was the most important reason for the increase. Countries with troops in Afghanistan, such as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, made up the biggest proportion increase.
China also remained one of the biggest spenders, raising its expenditures by approximately 7.5 percent.
The research shows that in the United States, there was a minor shift in spending priority from weapon systems to technologies under President Obama’s administration.
According to a Pentagon report from 2009, in addition to Taiwan being a particular military focus, China also started putting emphasis on technologies for cyber-and-space warfare, after a four-year focus on selling conventional weapons mainly to Pakistan, reported the New York Times.
