Worldwide military spending held strong at $1.7 trillion dollars in 2011, despite the lingering global financial crisis. With US arms spending on the slide, Russia and China are on the rise.

­The data released by The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute [SIPRI] shows that despite the astronomical global arms outlays for last year, the great recession halted a decade-long trend in increased military spending.

While the United States remains by far the world’s biggest spender with a defense budget of US$711 billion dollars, its military spending decreased by 1.3 per cent from the previous year.

That trend is only likely to continue, as the Pentagon is expected to make $478 billion in cuts over the next decade.

China for its part held the second spot at $143 billion dollars, a 6.7 per cent increase from 2001.