The US maintained its dominance in the international arms market last year, especially in sales to developing nations, according to a new congressional report.
The US was the leader in total worldwide sales last year, with about US$13.3 billion, or 45.5 percent of global conventional weapons deals, a rise from US$12.1 billion in 2001. Of that, US$8.6 billion was to developing nations, or about 48.6 percent of conventional arms deals concluded with developing nations last year, according to the report.
Russia was second in sales to the developing world last year, with US$5 billion, followed by France with US$1 billion.
While the report focuses on sales and deliveries of conventional weapons from the industrialized world to poorer nations, it also offers a glimpse into issues like missile proliferation by North Korea and foreign weapons transfers to Iraq.
The new report, Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1995-2002, was sent to the House and Senate this week by the Congressional Research Service, an arm of the Library of Congress. The annual study, written by Richard Grimmett, a specialist in national defense at the research service, is considered the most authoritative resource available to the public on worldwide weapons sales.
From 1999 to last year, there were no deliveries of surface-to-surface missiles to the Middle East from arms makers in the US, Russia, China or Europe, the report said.
But the study says 60 surface-to-surface missiles were delivered to the Middle East by nations in the category "all others," which includes suppliers like Israel, South Africa and North Korea.
US officials, both military and civilian, said Wednesday that North Korea was the source of the surface-to-surface missile deliveries listed in the report, and of 10 anti-ship missiles delivered to the Middle East in that period.
President Bush has increased public pressure on North Korea and Iran over their nuclear programs, and the administration is organizing a number of joint military exercises to train for the interdiction of possible shipments. The goal of these exercises is to make it harder to transmit components of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons -- and the missiles to deliver them.
But difficulties in halting North Korea's missile trade were evident in December, when a North Korean cargo vessel that was not flying a flag was halted off the Horn of Africa by two Spanish warships.
A search revealed 15 Scud missiles hidden beneath the cargo. But the vessel was eventually allowed to sail on with the missiles to its destination in Yemen after officials conceded that neither North Korea nor Yemen had violated any treaties.
In addition to the shipment to Yemen, North Korea is suspected of selling missile technology to Iran and others, Pentagon officials said.
The study says that none of the major arms makers delivered weapons to Iraq from 1999 to last year -- or at least not in amounts exceeding US$50 million, the lowest sales amount included in the study.
But a category of nations labeled "all other European," which includes formerly Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe, delivered about US$100 million worth of weapons to Iraq from 1999 to last year, although the report does not specify the source of the deliveries.
US officials believe Ukraine sold an advanced Kolchuga radar system to Iraq, Pentagon officials said.
RSS