India world's biggest arms importer: think tank

[Guest guest]

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/India-world-biggest-arms-afp-3460907245.html

India world's biggest arms importer: think tank

On Monday March 14, 2011, 4:05 am EDT

India has been the world's biggest weapons importer over the last five years,

Swedish think-tank SIPRI reported Monday, naming four Asian countries among the

top five arms importers.

The report also highlighted how the world's major arms supplying countries had

in recent years competed for trade in Libya, and in other Arab countries gripped

by the recent wave of pro-democracy uprisings.

" India is the world's largest arms importer, " the Stockholm International Peace

Research Institute (SIPRI) said as it released its latest report on trends in

the international arms trade.

" India received nine percent of the volume of international arms transfers

during 2006-10, with Russian deliveries accounting for 82 percent of Indian arms

imports, " it said.

Its arms imports jumped 21 percent from the previous five-year-period with 71

percent of its orders being for aircraft.

India's arms purchases were driven by several factors, said Siemon Wezeman of

SIPRI'S Arms Transfers Programme.

" The most often cited relate to rivalries with Pakistan and China as well as

internal security challenges, " he wrote.

China and South Korea held joint second place on the list of global arms

imports, each with six percent, followed by Pakistan, on five percent.

Aircraft accounted for 45 percent of Pakistan's arms imports, which had bought

warplanes from both China and the United States. Pakistan's arms imports were up

128 percent on the previous five-year period, SIPRI noted.

Greece rounded off the top-five list arms importers, with four percent of global

imports.

Since the lifting of a UN arms embargo on Libya in September 2003, Britain,

France, Italy and Russia had all competed to win orders from Moamer Kadhafi's

regime, said the report.

Kadhafi's forces are currently using tanks, artillery and warplanes to reclaim

territory held by the opposition forces.

Egypt had received 60 percent of its major arms imports from the United States

between 2006 and 2010, said the SIPRI report.

They included " M-1A1 tanks and M-113 armoured vehicles of the type present

during demonstrations in the country in January 2011, " it added.

A pro-democracy uprising forced Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to step down on

February 11, after nearly three decades of autocratic rule, after pro-democracy

uprising.

But the conflict left at least 384 dead and more than 6,000 injured.

Russia, Montenegro, the Netherlands and China had also supplied weapons to the

Mubarak regime, said the SIPRI report.

The United States remained the world's largest military equipment exporter,

accounting for 30 percent of global arms exports in 2006-10, 44 percent of which

went to to Asia and Oceania, SIPRI said.

The rest of the top five arms suppliers were: Russia, with 23 percent of the

total market; Germany (11 percent); France (seven percent); and Britain (four

percent).

" There is intense competition between suppliers for big-ticket deals in Asia,

the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America, " said Dr Holtom, head of

the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme.

He cited the efforts of the Eurofighter consortium to sell their plane across

the world against rival warplanes, with competition particuarly fierce for the

markets in Brazil and India.

Britain, France, Germany and Italy were also competing for orders for naval

equipment from Algeria, noted SIPRI.

The think tank, which specialises in research on conflicts, weapons, arms

control and disarmament, was created in 1966 and is 50-percent financed by the

Swedish state.

[Guest guest]

I would say that China has a large part in this. China is building large, military use roads deep into the Himalayan Mountains, larger and more robust than the "tourist road" they claim to be building. The Chinese Navy is also making inroads into the India Ocean as part of China's land buying in East Africa to secure food and mineral resources.

India sees this as a threat. Add in China's massive military build up over the last 20 years or so and that it is again increasing the pace, small wonder they are worried. India no doubt is also looking at troubles in the US and thinks we won't be in any condition to help them against China or Pakistan.

They also do have internal problems. In some places there are Hindu extremists who are killing Christians and Muslims. In other places there are Marxist rebels who have been fighting for decades and still rob the people and murder police and business types.

In a message dated 3/14/2011 4:33:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

"The most often cited relate to rivalries with Pakistan and China as well as internal security challenges," he wrote.