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UNITED NATIONS, Mar 14, 2011 (IPS) - As it projects its political and economic power in Asia - and vigorously pushes its longstanding claims for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council - India is also steadily strengthening its military might in the sprawling continent.
According to the latest figures released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has regained its position as the world's largest single purchaser of military equipment.
As a result, India ranks ahead of traditional buyers in Asia and the Middle East, including China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, South Korea, Israel, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Asia still leads the way, says Siemon Wezeman, senior fellow at SIPRI's Arms Transfers Programme, pointing out that India received nine percent of the volume of international arms transfers during 2006-2010.
The primary source was Russia, with deliveries from Moscow accounting for 82 percent of Indian arms imports.
The four largest arms importers in 2006-2010 are located in Asia: India (nine percent of all imports), China (six percent), South Korea (six percent) and Pakistan (five percent). These states have imported, and will continue to take delivery of, a range of major conventional weapons, in particular combat aircraft and naval systems, according to SIPRI.
Asked why India is on an arms-buying spree, Wezeman told IPS, "As usual with defence policies and procurement there are several drivers."
For India, the most important one seems still to be the perceptions of threats from Pakistan and China, he said, noting, "The Pakistani connections to the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks have only increased the perception of Pakistan as a threat."
The Chinese potential threat, on the other hand, has gained importance in recent years, both on the northern border and in the Indian Ocean.
Ambitions of regional and global leadership - and the competition with China for Asian leadership - also play a role, he added.
"It seems such ambitions need to be supported by at least a show of military power," as with countries such as Brazil, South Africa and others, he noted.
At the United Nations, both South Africa and Brazil, along with India and Germany, are continuing their relentless campaign for four new permanent seats in the Security Council.
India has a 1.2-million-strong military and an annual defence budget of over 20-25 billion dollars. Of this, about 9.2 billion dollars is earmarked for the army, 5.6 billion dollars for the air force and 3.4 billion dollars for the navy.
China has an annual military budget of over 90 billion dollars, according to official estimates. But unofficial figures are far above the estimated official statistics released by the Beijing government.
In contrast, the United States, with the world's largest single military budget, will be spending over 660 billion dollars on defence this year.
Wezeman said there is also a feeling in India that modernisation is long overdue and that new weapons just to replace outdated weapons must be acquired quickly to prevent a serious decline in Indian military strength - and a change in the balance of power with Pakistan and China.
But modernisation has been delayed by the huge bureaucratic inertia in India and by unrealistic expectations of being able to develop indigenous weapons.
And many plans have in the last decade been delayed for years and funds earmarked for procurement have been returned to the treasury because no decisions had been made on contracts, he added.
Lastly, of course, said Wezeman, India has seen strong economic growth which makes it possible to pay for increased procurement. According to the SIPRI report, India is the number one importer for the five-year period 2006-2010.
Between 1999-2003 and 2005-2009, India was number two for each subsequent five-year period.
The last time India held the number one position was during 1988-1992. And between 1998-2002 and 2005-2009, China was the global leader.
Asked about India's thriving domestic arms industry, Wezeman told IPS the "extensive" local industry is geared to meet domestic needs but has been rather spectacular in failing to do so. While ideas of producing 70 percent of Indian needs locally have been floated for ages, he said, the actual achievement has never been over 30 percent.
As an arms exporter, India is almost non-existent - for the period 2006-2010, India ranks 34 and accounted for less than 0.1 percent of the total volume of transfers. India's exports of newly produced major weapons consisted of a few Dhruv helicopters and a patrol craft, he said.
In addition, some of India's surplus weapons have been sold or donated.
There is no indication that exports of weapons and equipment, not included in SIPRI data, are much more impressive, he declared.
(END)
According to the latest figures released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has regained its position as the world's largest single purchaser of military equipment.
As a result, India ranks ahead of traditional buyers in Asia and the Middle East, including China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, South Korea, Israel, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Asia still leads the way, says Siemon Wezeman, senior fellow at SIPRI's Arms Transfers Programme, pointing out that India received nine percent of the volume of international arms transfers during 2006-2010.
The primary source was Russia, with deliveries from Moscow accounting for 82 percent of Indian arms imports.
The four largest arms importers in 2006-2010 are located in Asia: India (nine percent of all imports), China (six percent), South Korea (six percent) and Pakistan (five percent). These states have imported, and will continue to take delivery of, a range of major conventional weapons, in particular combat aircraft and naval systems, according to SIPRI.
Asked why India is on an arms-buying spree, Wezeman told IPS, "As usual with defence policies and procurement there are several drivers."
For India, the most important one seems still to be the perceptions of threats from Pakistan and China, he said, noting, "The Pakistani connections to the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks have only increased the perception of Pakistan as a threat."
The Chinese potential threat, on the other hand, has gained importance in recent years, both on the northern border and in the Indian Ocean.
Ambitions of regional and global leadership - and the competition with China for Asian leadership - also play a role, he added.
"It seems such ambitions need to be supported by at least a show of military power," as with countries such as Brazil, South Africa and others, he noted.
At the United Nations, both South Africa and Brazil, along with India and Germany, are continuing their relentless campaign for four new permanent seats in the Security Council.
India has a 1.2-million-strong military and an annual defence budget of over 20-25 billion dollars. Of this, about 9.2 billion dollars is earmarked for the army, 5.6 billion dollars for the air force and 3.4 billion dollars for the navy.
China has an annual military budget of over 90 billion dollars, according to official estimates. But unofficial figures are far above the estimated official statistics released by the Beijing government.
In contrast, the United States, with the world's largest single military budget, will be spending over 660 billion dollars on defence this year.
Wezeman said there is also a feeling in India that modernisation is long overdue and that new weapons just to replace outdated weapons must be acquired quickly to prevent a serious decline in Indian military strength - and a change in the balance of power with Pakistan and China.
But modernisation has been delayed by the huge bureaucratic inertia in India and by unrealistic expectations of being able to develop indigenous weapons.
And many plans have in the last decade been delayed for years and funds earmarked for procurement have been returned to the treasury because no decisions had been made on contracts, he added.
Lastly, of course, said Wezeman, India has seen strong economic growth which makes it possible to pay for increased procurement. According to the SIPRI report, India is the number one importer for the five-year period 2006-2010.
Between 1999-2003 and 2005-2009, India was number two for each subsequent five-year period.
The last time India held the number one position was during 1988-1992. And between 1998-2002 and 2005-2009, China was the global leader.
Asked about India's thriving domestic arms industry, Wezeman told IPS the "extensive" local industry is geared to meet domestic needs but has been rather spectacular in failing to do so. While ideas of producing 70 percent of Indian needs locally have been floated for ages, he said, the actual achievement has never been over 30 percent.
As an arms exporter, India is almost non-existent - for the period 2006-2010, India ranks 34 and accounted for less than 0.1 percent of the total volume of transfers. India's exports of newly produced major weapons consisted of a few Dhruv helicopters and a patrol craft, he said.
In addition, some of India's surplus weapons have been sold or donated.
There is no indication that exports of weapons and equipment, not included in SIPRI data, are much more impressive, he declared.
(END)
