COMPARATIVE DEFENSE SPENDING OF INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE AND THAILAND ACROSS DIFFERENT LENSES: BEST BANG FOR THE DEFENSE BUCK
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Authors
Fu, Rentai B.
Subjects
Defense budget
cost-effective defense spending
Southeast Asia
Singapore
Malaysia
Thailand
Indonesia
Association of South East Asian Nations
ASEAN
MILEX
cost-effective defense spending
Southeast Asia
Singapore
Malaysia
Thailand
Indonesia
Association of South East Asian Nations
ASEAN
MILEX
Advisors
Candreva, Philip J.
Date of Issue
2022-12
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Transparent analysis of defense budgets is important for neighboring countries to understand the underlying impetus or constraints of each other’s defense spending, to preclude strategic miscalculations or unnecessary arms races. Traditional analysis using the budget size or percentage of GDP spent on defense are insufficient in a complex and dynamic environment.
This thesis analyzes alternative measures of defense spending for four countries within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, which come with their own unique geopolitical context, culture and history. This neighborhood enjoys peaceful and cooperative relationships, allowing a mostly incremental and gradual growth of defense budgets. Various military expenditure metrics are used to comparatively assess the countries’: (1) defense budgets adjusted for domestic purchasing power; (2) the government’s commitment to defense; and (3) the defense spending density accounting for their respective geographic size. We further examine the defense budget cost-effectiveness of the four countries by analyzing the defense budget against a military capability index, and study the potential factors (national productivity, graft) that influence the ability of the military to derive the biggest bang for the defense buck.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Department of Defense Management (DDM)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
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Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.