Global military spending hits 1.2 trillion dollars-study

STOCKHOLM, June 11 (Reuters) - Global military spending rose 3.5 per cent last year to 1.2 trillion dollars as US costs for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan mounted, a European research body said today in an annual study.

The United States spent 529 billion dollars on military operations in 2006 -- a rise of 5 per cent over last year -- the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its latest year book.

The US government had appropriated 432 billion dollars under the auspices of its ''global war on terrorism'' in September 2001 to June 2006, SIPRI said.

''Taking both immediate and long-term factors into account, the overall past and future costs until year 2016 to the USA for the war in Iraq have been estimated at 2,267 billion dollars,'' it said.

Military spending in China, which is modernising its People's Liberation Army, climbed to an estimated 49.5 billion dollars last year from 44.3 billion dollars in 2005.

''China's military expenditure continued to increase rapidly, for the first time surpassing that of Japan and hence making China the biggest military spender in Asia and the fourth biggest in the world,'' the institute said.

REUTERS KK VC1944