According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the overall amount of arms trading has increased to levels not seen since before the end of the cold war in 1990. The middle east and Asia remain key focal points in the international arms trade and are some of the largest buyers of arms and ammunition.
India has topped the list of the world’s biggest arms buyers over the past 5 years. India’s overall arms imports account for a grand 13% of all arms sales between 2012-16. It was also reported that India acquired most of its weapons from Russia. For the 5 years before 2012, India had been responsible for 9.7% of all arms imports.
The middle east features prominently with Saudi Arab coming in second on the list. Their arms imports jumped drastically by 212% after their military intervention in Yemen, topping the UAE, which was placed third. Overall the middle east’s arms imports increased by 86% with Qatar increasing their imports ny 245%. China follows the UAE at number 4.
Explaining the difference and China’s relatively lower position, Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI’s arms and military expenditure program said “While China is increasingly able to substitute arms imports with indigenous products, India remains dependent on weapons technology from many willing suppliers, including Russia, the USA, European states, Israel and South Korea.”
In accordance with previous trends, the USA topped the list of largest exporters in the world while Russia came in second and China third. Aude Fleurant, the director of SIPRI’s arms and military expenditure program said, “The US has delivered a lot of weapons in 2016, both very expensive weapons and strategically important weapons – missile systems, surveillance and navigation technology. The weight of the US in the global arms trade is so big that it’s enough to shape the trend.”
The increase in arms trade to levels not seen since the cold war is a dangerous time as it indicates going back to a time when stockpiling weapons was considered necessary and the world lay at the brink of nuclear armagedon.