Asia leads the world when it comes to weapons imports, according to a study released yesterday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Globally, the volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons was 24 percent higher in the 2007-2011 period compared with the 2002-2006 period, the report said.
Over the past five years, Asia and Oceania accounted for 44 percent in volume of conventional arms imports, the institute said.
That compared with 19 percent for Europe, 17 percent for the Middle East, 11 percent for North and South America and 9 percent for Africa, the report said.
India was the biggest arms importer in the 2007-2011 period, accounting for 10 percent in weapons volume.
It was followed by South Korea (6 percent), China and Pakistan (both 5 percent) and Singapore (4 percent), according to the independent institute which specializes in arms control and disarmament matters.
These five countries accounted for almost a third, 30 percent, of the volume of international arms imports, SIPRI said.
“India’s imports of major weapons increased by 38 percent between 2002-06 and 2007-11,” SIPRI said. “Notable deliveries of combat aircraft during 2007-11 included 120 Su-30MKs and 16 MiG-29Ks from Russia and 20 Jaguar Ss from the United Kingdom.”
While India was the world’s largest importer, its neighbor and sometime foe Pakistan was the third largest.
Pakistan took delivery of “a significant quantity of combat aircraft during this period: 50 JF-17s from China and 30 F-16s,” the report added.
Both countries “have taken and will continue to take delivery of large quantities of tanks,” it also said.
“Major Asian importing states are seeking to develop their own arms industries and decrease their reliance on external sources of supply,” said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.
China, which in 2006 and 2007 was the world’s top arms importer, has now dropped to fourth place.
“The decline in the volume of Chinese imports coincides with the improvements in China’s arms industry and rising arms exports,” the report said.
However, “while the volume of China’s arms exports is increasing, this is largely a result of Pakistan importing more arms from China,” it added. “China has not yet achieved a major breakthrough in any other significant market.”
However, China is the sixth-largest world exporter of weapons behind the US, Russia, Germany, France and Britain.
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