Brunei, a small Southeast Asian sultanate bordered by Malaysia, is significantly raising its 2024 defense budget amid concerns over how to protect its territory.
In the coming fiscal year, the government has allotted 796.3 million Brunei dollars (U.S. $594 million) for defense. This represents a 31.6% jump over last year’s allocation of 605.2 million Brunei dollars.
This rise in military spending heavily surpasses the 5.5% increase in overall government outlays during the fiscal 2024/2025 time period.
When the budget was discussed at the Legislative Council on March 2, the secondary defense minister, Halbi bin Mohammad Yussof, warned Brunei faces a complex and unpredictable security landscape. (The country’s sultan serves as the primary defense minister.)