Russian lawmakers gave preliminary approval Friday to a 25 percent hike in defense spending — a sharp increase for Russia’s military that comes only a month after it crushed Georgia on the battlefield.
The boost in defense spending for 2009 fits in with Russia’s recent defiant posture toward the West, a stance that has seen relations [...]

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China’s growing military ambition, matched only by its growing military spending, is fuelling a rapid Asian arms race.
Beijing deploys the world’s biggest army, its defence spending is rising faster than any other power and, to cap it all, its forces will this month carry out their first spacewalk.
With India, Japan and Russia also investing heavily [...]

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The European Union may find dealing with the Middle Kingdom trickier than it expects
IN THIS Olympic summer, expect to hear a lot about the century of China’s rise and America’s decline. That sounds like good news for the European Union, and all who dream of a “multipolar” order in which European wealth counts as much [...]

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Speak fraternally but carry a stick. Is there a new arms race—or just overdue retooling of armies?
Even as its leaders talk, Latin America is re-arming—or rather some South American countries are. In the broader region, including Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, total defence spending shot up to $38 billion in 2007 from $25 billion [...]

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Japan’s estrangement from its postwar pacifism continued today with the enactment of a law ending its 40-year ban on the military use of space.
The law signals Tokyo’s determination to expand its military capability amid concern over China’s ballooning defence budget and North Korea’s development of ballistic and nuclear missiles.
The move will be welcomed by the [...]

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