The NATO Secretary General, Rutte, promised Trump last year that European defense budgets would see a significant increase — and that this would count as a "Trump victory." Allies of the United States are now beginning to fulfill this pledge, either to appease Trump or to hedge against the risk of being abandoned by the U.S. According to an analysis of data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) by The Economist, global military spending reached $2.9 trillion in 2025, rising 2.9% in real terms compared to 2024 — marking the eleventh consecutive year of growth. Excluding Russia and Ukraine, European countries accounted for nearly half of this increase. Military expenditure in the region rose by 14.1%, reaching $864 billion; meanwhile, U.S. defense spending declined by 7.5%, falling to $954 billion — essentially reverting to the level seen in 2021. This shift partly reflects support for Ukraine: in 2025, the U.S. did not approve any new supplemental funding for Ukraine, while European nations expanded their own related expenditures. However, Europe’s efforts to rearm have gone far beyond the war itself — even excluding Russia, Ukraine, and associated military aid, European defense spending still grew by 13.4%. Other U.S. allies are also rearming. Japan’s military budget increased by 9.7% in 2025, reaching $62 billion, with defense spending accounting for 1.4% of GDP — its highest level since 1958. This means that, after adjusting for purchasing power, total defense spending by U.S. allies has, for the first time since 2001, surpassed that of the United States. The combined military budgets of NATO members and U.S. treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific region (Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines) amounted to 111% of U.S. military spending in 2025. Even just the NATO European members plus Canada collectively spent 81% of what the U.S. spent. Nevertheless, when measured by nominal dollar amounts and military purchasing power parity, the United States remains the world’s largest defense spender. Ukraine is the country with the highest military expenditure as a share of GDP globally, allocating 40% of its economic output to defense; Russia spends 7.5% of its GDP on defense. In dollar terms, the U.S. lead may soon widen further. Trump aims to raise U.S. defense spending to nearly 5% of GDP, while most other NATO members still spend only slightly above 2% of GDP. Without U.S. authorization, software, and weapons, NATO allies would struggle to conduct any large-scale military operations in Europe. Although allied defense spending is growing rapidly, they have not yet achieved full autonomy or become independent of reliance on the United States.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864957472029705/
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