ISLAMABAD: India has emerged as the second biggest importer of arms after Saudi Arabia beat it in the arms-buying race, whereas Pakistan is ranked at the 10th position in this respect, according to a yearbook 2021 of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The yearbook presents a combination of original data in areas such as world military expenditures, international arms transfers, arms production, nuclear forces, armed conflicts and multilateral peace operations together with analysis of important aspects of armscontrol, peace and international security.
SIPRI has identified 164 states as importers of major arms in the five-year period (2016-20). The top-five among them---Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and China -- received 36 percent of total arms imports in the years under review. Except for Egypt which replaced the United Arab Emirates, the top five were the same as in 2011-15, although there were some changes in rank order.
Most notably, Saudi Arabia moved above India to become the world’s largest importer of major arms in 2016–20. At the regional level, Asia and Oceania accounted for 42 percent of arms imports in 2016-20, followed by the Middle East (33 percent), Europe (12 percent), Africa (7.3 percent) and the Americas (5.4 percent). Arms imports by states in the Middle East were 25 percent higher in 2016–20 than in 2011–15. Four of the top 10 arms-importing states in 2016-20 are in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the UAE. The USA accounted for 52 percent of arms imports by states in the region, while Russia supplied 13 percent and France 12 percent.
SIPRI has identified 65 states as exporters of major arms during 2016–20. The five largest suppliers of arms during that period -- the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China -- accounted for 76 percent of all arms exports. This is slightly higher than in 2011-15 and 2006-10, when the top five accounted for 73 percent of the global total. France had the highest increase in arms exports among the top five. The US and German arms exports also grew, while Russian and Chinese arms exports decreased.
As for Pakistan’s nuclear rival, India's import has decreased between 2011–15 and 2016–20 by 33 percent. Russia was the largest arms supplier to India in both 2011-15 and 2016-20. The US was the second largest arms supplier to India in 2011-15 but in 2016-20 India’s arms imports from the US were 46 percent lower than in the previous five-year period, making the US the fourth largest supplier to India in 2016-20. France and Israel were the second and third largest arms suppliers to India in 2016-20. India’s arms imports from France increased by 709 percent, while those from Israel rose by 82 percent. Combat aircraft and associated missiles made up more than 50 percent of Indian arms imports in 2016-20.
Between 2011-15 and 2016-20, arms imports by Pakistan decreased by 23 percent. China accounted for 61 percent of Pakistan’s arm imports in 2011-15 and for 74 percent in 2016-20. “Like India, its main regional rival, Pakistan has several large pending orders for major arms. They are scheduled for delivery by 2028 and include 50 JF-17 combat aircraft, 8 Type-041 submarines and 4 Type-054A frigates from China as well as 4 MilGem frigates from Turkey. The ships on order represent the most significant expansion of Pakistan’s naval capabilities in the country’s history,” noted SIPRI.