India has emerged as the largest importer of conventional arms, accounting for nearly a tenth of all arms transfer between 2006 and 2010, according to a Swedish think-tank. China was a distant global No. 2, at six per cent.
In its latest arms transfer report published yesterday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) also said 20 per cent of all arms’ movements between 2006 and 2010 ended in India, China or Pakistan. “Indian imports of major conventional weapons are driven by a range of factors. The most often cited relate to rivalries with Pakistan and China, as well as internal security challenges,” said Siemon Wezeman of the Sipri Arms Transfers Programme.
“As an importer, India is demanding offsets and transfers of technology to boost its own arms industry, and, in order to secure orders, major suppliers are agreeing to such demands.”
Speaking to Business Standard from Stockholm, Wezeman said these new trends in Asia show lack of progress in the bilateral talks between India, China and Pakistan on border tensions and the lack of confidence-building measures in the region.
The volume of deliveries to India in 2006–10 was 21 per cent higher than in 2001–2005. Aircraft accounted for 71 per cent of imports, with deliveries in 2010 of 35 Su-30MKI and 10 MiG-29SMT combat aircraft from Russia, as well as a second Phalcon airborne early warning aircraft from Israel.
Russian reliance
Another interesting trend noted in this report is that despite the US being the single largest source of arms supplies in the world, the two largest importers, India and China, have received more than three-fourth of their supplies from Russia. India imports 82 per cent of its list from Russia. South Korea and Pakistan have relied on the US as their main source.
Despite being the second largest importer of arms in the world, China has also emerged as a major supplier to Pakistan, almost the same level as US imports to Pakistan.
An estimated 39 per cent of Pakistan’s imports came from the US and 38 per cent from China. Britain (six per cent) and Israel (three per cent) are the second and third largest suppliers of arms for India.
Wezeman said that unlike India, which pays for most of its arms, Pakistan received its supplies as aid (from countries like the US).
The Sipri report is based on information available in the public domain on arms deals. Wezeman said two prominent “block spots” in the world arms movements map were China and North Korea, where accurate information is not available readily. “Deals emerging from India and Pakistan are quite open, while in the case of China, we don’t know what they are planning to buy,” he said.
The average volume of worldwide arms transfers in 2006–10 was 24 per cent higher than in 2001–2005. The major recipient region in 2006–10 remained Asia and Oceania (43 per cent of all imports), followed by Europe (21 per cent), the Middle East (17 per cent), the Americas (12 per cent) and Africa (seven per cent).
The USA remains the world’s largest exporter of military equipment, accounting for 30 per cent of global arms exports in 2006–10. During this period, 44 per cent of US deliveries went to Asia and Oceania, 28 per cent to the Middle East and 19 per cent to Europe.
Sipri is an independent international institute, dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Its work is mostly funded by the Swedish parliament.
