India continues to remain the world’s largest arms importer, accounting for 14 percent of the global arms imports in the 2011-2015 timeframe. It was revealed by report on the international arms transfers released by a global think tank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Key highlights:
- Top arms importers are:
India (14 percent), China (4.7 percent), Australia (3.6 percent), Pakistan (3.3 percent), Vietnam (2.9 percent) and South Korea (2.6 percent). - India’s arms imports: It remains 3 times greater than those of its rivals Pakistan & China. Its biggest suppliers are Russia, United States, Israel and France.
- This indicates India’s failure to build a strong domestic defence industrial base and Indian arms industry has failed to produce competitive indigenously designed weapons.
- India has spent over the 120 $ billion on arms acquisitions over the last 15 years most of them from foreign suppliers.
- China’s scenario: Earlier China used to be top on the imports chart but in past few decades it has gradually built a stronger.
- China has emerged as the world’s 3rd largest arms exporter after United States and Russia.
- Pakistan is the main recipient of Chinese arms exports accounting for 35 percent of the total imports followed by the Bangladesh (20 percent) and Myanmar (16 percent).
- Russia is China’s largest arms supplier accounting for 59 percent followed by France (15 percent) and Ukraine (14 percent).
India remains the world’s largest arms importer
