TRUMP PROPOSES US$1.5 TRILLION MILITARY BUDGET FOR 2027, SPARKS WAR CONCERNS

WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- United States (US) President Donald Trump proposed a US$1.5-trillion military budget for 2027 on social media on Wednesday, a sharp increase from 2026's US$901 billion, fuelling concerns about the potential eruption of wars, Xinhua reported.

"After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

"This will allow us to build the 'Dream Military' that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe," Trump said.

Trump also claimed that the "tremendous income" brought in by tariffs would make the new figure possible.

"That's not a peacekeeping budget. It's a war budget, a big war budget," US journalist and political commentator Tucker Carlson said in his latest show. "Obviously, that's the kind of budget that a country that anticipates a global or regional war has for its military."

"I think it's fair to expect and all the signs suggest that we're going to have a big war soon," Carlson said. "Hope it doesn't happen, but obviously we're moving in that direction toward a world war."

Trump's announcement came just a few days after the US raid on Venezuela that captured the South American country's president Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

In mid-December, the US Senate approved a House-passed US$901-billion defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which was quickly signed by Trump. Trump's latest proposal will also need congressional approval.

The US has spent far more on its military than any other country in recent years, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of global military expenditures.

The US remains by far the largest military spender in the world, with an expenditure of US$997 billion in 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

In 2024, the 39 US companies listed in the SIPRI Top 100 recorded combined arms revenues of US$334 billion, up 3.8 per cent year on year and accounting for nearly half of the Top 100 total, according to a recent SIPRI report.

The report also noted that 30 of the 39 US firms recorded growth in arms revenues.

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA