Defence spending in Asia and Oceania has risen considerably last year according to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
In fact in 2016 it rose 4.6% compared to 2015 and total spending increased to $450 billion, which was well over a quarter of the global figure of $1,686 billion.
In comparison, the 4.6% rise in Asia-Pacific last year greatly transcended the global average increase of 0.4% compared to 2015.
However, this rate of growth was lower than the previous two years, and SIPRI attributed this as being 'partially related to the slowdown in the growth of