In my area there is a saying that "Chaudhary ke ghar roti na ho par banduk jaroor hogi". The Chaudhary may not have bread to eat but will definitely keep a gun. In past it may be justified also as the gun was used to loot the traders mostly banias and passer bys. This mentality is destructive(or predatory) stopping own progress as well as the others who are the target has to raise their defences.
Seem the Asia (especially India, Pakistan and North korea) are still under the Chaudhary mentality, here the people applaud missile test. We want to buy tank, air craft carriers, missile submarines without actually knowing are they effective or not. In the today world I seriously thinks the tanks and carriers are sitting ducks but we still we are spending tax payer money.
Our most of the institutions are corrupt and acting as leach and tapeworms for their own gains. Some have become cancer, one of my close relative went to the government lab; He observed they were getting crores of funding for developing technologies related to defence which in essence has nothing to do with it. These personnel were interested in their own publications that too without any strategic thinking. Our countries are not able to stop brain drain and a lot of brain has been put in the drains.
On this forum people are giving examples of Kuwait who had the highest per capita at the time. These Asian countries are not even in the top 100, so unless they are planning to usurp others wealth it don't make sense. Who will loot a beggar but for another beggar? Their defence spending is way to much above whats required and that is on the cost of their respective population, but then we all are Chaudhary, isn't it?