South Asia and the Gulf lead rising trend in arms imports, Russian exports grow, says SIPRI

India’s arms imports are now almost 3 times as high as those of the second and third largest arms importers—China and Pakistan—according to new data on international arms transfers published today by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Overall, the volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons grew by 14 per cent between 2004–08 and 2009–13.

The volume of Indian imports of major weapons rose by 111 per cent between 2004–08 and 2009–13, and its share of the volume of international arms imports increased from 7 to 14 per cent. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s imports of major arms increased by 119 per cent.

The major suppliers of arms to India in 2009–13 were Russia (accounting for 75 per cent of imports) and the United States (7 per cent), which for the first time became the second largest arms supplier to India. In contrast, the USA’s share of Pakistani imports in the same period was 27 per cent. China was also a major supplier in the region, accounting for 54 per cent of Pakistani arms imports and 82 per cent of Bangladeshi imports.

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