Pakistan remained the 10th biggest importer of major arms globally from 2016-2020, accounting for 2.7 percent of major arms imports, said a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) on Monday.
Pakistan and India were among the biggest arms importers in Asia and Oceania between 2016 and 2020, according to the report. The region accounted for a major chunk of the world’s arms trade with 42 percent of the sales during the period. The report mentioned that apart from India and Pakistan, Australia, South Korea, and even China were the biggest importers in the region.
The five largest major arms importers in the time period under consideration were Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia, and China. Among them, Saudi Arabia accounted for 11 percent of global imports; India 9.5 percent; Egypt 5.8 percent; Australia 5.1 percent; and China 4.7 percent. Pakistan accounted for 2.7pc of major arms imports in the five years from 2016 to 2020.
Pakistan’s main supplier during this time was China, which accounted for 74 percent of the country’s imports, followed by Russia (6.6 percent) and Italy (5.9 percent). Compared to the previous period, Pakistan saw a 23 percent decrease in arms imports.
In comparison, India’s main suppliers during this time period were Russia (49 percent), France (18 percent) and Israel (13 percent). The neighbouring country also saw a 33 percent decrease in its total imports from 2016-2020 versus the first five years of the decade.
Another notable change in India’s imports came from the United States, which was the second-biggest supplier of arms to the country in the first five years of the decade, but fell to the fourth spot after its exports dropped by 46 percent. India’s arms imports from France increased by 709 percent during this time, while imports from Israel grew 82 percent.
China was the world’s fifth-largest weapons exporter in the period 2016-20. However, its exports declined by 7.8 percent between 2011-15 and 2016-2020.
With a total share of over 5 percent in total arms exports, China’s main customers were Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Algeria.
India is currently pursuing its ‘Make in India’ initiative, as part of which New Delhi would focus on the indigenous development of defence equipment to cut arms imports by a whopping 33 percent. The move is likely to impact Russia, the largest supplier of defence equipment to India.
The SIPRI report shows that the Russian arms exports dropped by 22 percent, although it accounted for 20 percent of all exports in 2016-2020. “The bulk—around 90 percent—of this decrease was attributable to a 53 percent fall in its arms exports to India,” it mentioned.
In addition, India’s defence imports from the US decreased by 46 percent. The drop in Indian arms imports seems to have been mainly due to its complex procurement processes, combined with an attempt to reduce its dependence on foreign arms. Despite all this, the US remains the largest arms exporter, increasing its global share of arms exports from 32 to 37 percent between 2011–15 and 2016–20. The US supplied major arms to 96 countries in 2016–20, far more than any other supplier.
France also saw a substantial increase in arms exports, by 44 percent and accounted for 8.2 percent of global arms exports in 2016–20. India, Egypt, and Qatar together received 59 percent of French arms. India has purchased 36 Dassault Rafales from France during this period.