Trump Signs a Massive $ 700bn Defence Policy Bill

US President Donald Trump has signed a nearly $700 billion annual defence policy Bill in the White House, which authorises the US military to add troops, ships, planes and other equipment.

The National Defense Authorization Act 2018 (NDAA), which was passed by the Congress last month, authorises $626.4 billion for the base defence budget and $65.7 billion for a war fund known as Overseas Contingency Operations, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US President signed the defence policy bill on Tuesday. The money would go towards adding 7,500 active-duty soldiers to the Army, 4,000 active-duty sailors to the Navy, 1,000 active-duty Marines and 4,100 active-duty airmen to the Air Force.

It would also allow for a 2.4 percent pay raise for troops, higher than the 2.1 percent requested by the administration.

Under the Bill, the Pentagon will be allowed to buy 90 F-35s, 20 more than requested; 24 F/A-18s, 10 more than requested; and three littoral combat ships, which is two more than requested, among other equipment purchases.

The US Army, Navy and Air Force would also see increases in the reserves and National Guard, according to a report by the Washington-based political news website The Hill.

The increase in the military budget is a reflection of Trump’s aggressive response policy to the crisis in the Korean peninsula and war maneuvering against North Korea. The Bill also folds in the Trumps administration's November request for $4 billion more for missile defence and $1.2 billion to support sending another 3,500 troops to Afghanistan.

A recent international report by the Sweden based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said that the overseas military operations by the United States helped the global arms trade to increase in 2016 after witnessing a decline for past five years.

The rise in the arms sales seems to have a connection with the ‘smothering conflicts’, according to reports. "Nonetheless, it's very difficult to make a direct connection between large arms purchases and ongoing wars. But of course there are links: There's a greater demand for certain types of weapon — munitions, missiles or ground vehicles, for example,” says Aude Fleurant, Director of the Arms and Military Expenditure Program at SIPRI.

However, the total money exceeds budget caps by more than $80 billion and the Congress has yet to pass a defence spending Bill to make the buildup a reality. Democrats are already opposed to the Trump defence budget request because it was paired with an equal cut to domestic spending.

(with inputs from IANS)