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To the surprise of no one, there has been a surge in arms imports to Europe, according to new statistics released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on 13 March.
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Imports of major arms by European countries increased by 47 per cent between 2018 to 2022 was covered by the statistics and compared to the same period from 2013 to 2017.
The global level of international arms transfers has contracted, decreasing by 5.1 per cent and arms imports fell overall in Africa by 40 percent, the Americas by 21 percent, Asia and Oceania by 7.5 percent, and the Middle East by 8.8 percent.
Unsurprisingly, Ukraine has had a meteoric rise to become the world’s third largest arms importer in 2022. The country had imported few major arms from 1991 to 2021, and as a result of military aid, is now the third largest importer of major arms behind Qatar and India. Ukraine accounted for 2 per cent of global arms imports for the five years identified in the statistics.
“Even as arms transfers have declined globally, those to Europe have risen sharply due to the tensions between Russia and most other European states,” said SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme senior researcher Pieter D Wezeman.
“Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European states want to import more arms, faster. Strategic competition also continues elsewhere; arms imports to East Asia have increased and those to the Middle East remain at a high level.
“It is likely that the invasion of Ukraine will further limit Russia’s arms exports. This is because Russia will prioritise supplying its armed forces and demand from other states will remain low due to trade sanctions on Russia and increasing pressure from the USA and its allies not to buy Russian arms.”
USA and Russia have traditionally supplied global arms exports over the last three decades, however, while the US has increased their arms exports by 14 per cent during the study period, Russia’s arms exports fell by 31 per cent and its share of global arms exports decreased to 16 per cent.
Russian arms exports to its largest recipient, India, fell by 37 per cent while exports increased to China by 39 per cent and Egypt by 44 per cent, becoming Russia’s second and third largest recipients.
France has helped fill the global arms exports gap increasing from 7.1 per cent to 11 per cent. France displaced the USA as the second largest supplier of arms to India, receiving 30 per cent of French arms exports.
“France is gaining a bigger share of the global arms market as Russian arms exports decline, as seen in India, for example,” Wezeman said.
“This seems likely to continue, as by the end of 2022, France had far more outstanding orders for arms exports than Russia.
“Due to concerns about how the supply of combat aircraft and long-range missiles could further escalate the war in Ukraine, NATO states declined Ukraine’s requests for them in 2022. At the same time, they supplied such arms to other states involved in conflict, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia.
“Growing perceptions of threats from China and North Korea have driven rising demand for arms imports by Japan, South Korea, and Australia, notably including for long-range strike weapons. The main supplier for all three is the USA.”
Australia has maintained its top spot as largest arms importer in Oceania, increasing imports by 23 per cent. Across East Asia, there was a 21 per cent increase in arms imports with South Korea increasing by 61 percent, Japan by 171 per cent, and China by 4.1 percent.
India remains the world’s top arms importer but declined by 11 per cent due to procurement processes, diversifying arms suppliers, and local production focus.
In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia was the world’s second largest arms importer receiving 9.6 per cent of all arms imports in the period. Qatar’s arms imports increased by 311 per cent and lifted it to become the world’s third biggest arms importer in 2018 to 2022.
More than 260 advanced combat aircraft, 516 new tanks, and 13 frigates were imported to the Middle East during the study period and 24 combat aircraft have been ordered from Russia by Iran.
In other parts of the world, Türkiye fell from seventh to 27th largest recipient of US arms, while arms imports in sub-Saharan Africa fell by 23 per cent, and Russia overtook China as the largest arms supplier to the sub-region.
