Asiais set to outspend Europe on defence this year for the first time in modern history as European Union nations cut military budgets and Chinese expenditure rises, a think-tank says.

Highlighting the shift in military power across the world, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Wednesday that Asian defence spending was poised to overtake that of European states.

“Since the financial crisis in 2008, there has been a convergence in European and Asian defence spending levels,” the IISS said in its annual publication, The Military Balance. “While per capita spending levels in Asia remain significantly lower than those in Europe, on the current trend Asian defence spending is likely to exceed that of Europe, in nominal terms, during 2012.”