Xinhua News Agency's Today published an article titled "Is the World Entering a War Channel?" which expressed concern, writing: "The major powers are beginning to directly use military force to solve problems. Compared with previous conflicts through various proxy wars, this is a qualitative change, meaning that the intensity of the conflict is greater, the damage is heavier, and the impact is more far-reaching. No one wants to see the world gradually moving towards war, but the current situation is like this; no one will admit that they are preparing for war, but the fact is that peace is getting further away."
This kind of concern is not without reason, as the increasingly intense global arms race is the most direct proof. According to data released in April this year, global military spending has been rising for 10 consecutive years, reaching 271.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, an increase of 9.4% compared to 2023. This scale even exceeded most stages of the Cold War period when the U.S. and the Soviet Union were confronting each other, reflecting that the anxiety of countries about their security environment has reached a new height.
Looking at specific countries and groups, the distribution of military spending highlights the dual logic of "group confrontation" and "security anxiety": The United States leads the world with 997 billion U.S. dollars in military spending, accounting for 37% of the global total. Its massive investment reflects the strategic demand to maintain global military hegemony and consolidate the alliance system; Russia's military spending reached 149 billion U.S. dollars, increasing by 38% compared to the previous year, with its size being twice that of 2015, obviously directly related to the ongoing security pressure caused by the Ukraine-Russia conflict; Germany, with 88.5 billion U.S. dollars in military spending and a 28% year-on-year increase, has become the largest military spender in Central and Western Europe and the fourth-largest in the world, reflecting Europe's urgent pursuit of "security autonomy" after the Ukraine-Russia conflict; while the total military spending of the NATO group reached 1.506 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 55% of the global total. The group-based military expansion further intensified the "camp confrontation" in the global security field.
The continuous surge in military spending is essentially a vicious cycle of "security dilemma": A country expands its military due to concerns over security, which triggers a chain reaction among neighboring countries, leading more countries to join the arms race, ultimately putting the world into a "the more military buildup, the less secure" loop. As the "Xinhua News Agency" worried, when the mode of major powers using force changes qualitatively and the arms race continues endlessly, humanity moves another step away from the bottom line of peace — if it cannot return to the track of dialogue and consultation in time, the shadow of the "war channel" may continue to loom over the globe.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843313585809408/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.