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Asia emerging as defence world's biggest spender

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The United States and Russia are engaged in a desperate contest to sell arms in Asia, according to the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

Both the erstwhile Cold Warriors are focussing on Asia because of the region's huge potential and the decline of defence spending elsewhere.

A recent IDSA study found that Asia has been a notable exception to the global decline in defence expenditure. Arms imports, especially of advanced weapon systems, are growing faster in Asia than anywhere else in the world.

South-East Asia alone spent US $9 billion on arms purchases in 1995, or 22 per cent of all weapon sales in the world, making it the third largest market after the US and Europe, and putting even West Asia in the shade.

Russian military co-operation with China is also growing with Beijing's plans to refurbish its armed forces finding ready response from the Russian military-industrial complex which had armed the Chinese in the 1950s and 1960s and has been facing a slump since the demise of the Soviet Union.

The IDSA study has pointed out that China accounts for nearly 40 per cent of Russia's defence exports, with most of the contents remaining secret. US experts have also raised the alarm that Moscow could be selling sophisticated military hardware such as cruise missiles and Backfire bombers as well as advanced technology such as nuclear propulsion for submarines.

Officially, China's defence expenditure has been growing at 15 per cent per annum. But Air Commodore (retd) Jasjit Singh, IDSA director, says the actual growth rate could be much higher.

Much of the official rise in expenditure is expected to go towards creating better living conditions and facilities for the troops. But enhanced investment in research and development, modernisation of defence industries, and weapons development are also priority areas.

UNI

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