Asian nations in weaponry splurge as China tensions grow

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India, Australia and Japan were among the world’s largest arms importers in the last five years

Tensions between China and many states in Asia and Oceania are the main driver of the region’s weapons imports, it said

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According to a report, India is Asia’s top arms importer. File photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 14 Mar 2022

Some Asian and Oceanian nations are ramping up weapons purchases as they become increasingly wary of China’s growing regional ambition, a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed on Monday.

The report compared weapons transactions worldwide for the five years through 2021 to the previous five years through 2016. It showed that out of the top 10 arms importers, six were from Asia and Oceania.

India was the top importer, accounting for 11 per cent of the total, but imports into the region as a whole actually decreased by 4.7 per cent, indicating a wide variance in purchases among subregions, the report noted.

Japan’s imports increased by 2.5 times, making it the 10th-largest importer in the world. Australia, China, South Korea and Pakistan were also ranked in the top 10.

Asia and Oceania, the world’s largest arms importing region over the past 30 years, received 43 per cent of global transfers from 2017 to 2021.

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