World arms trade up 20% in five years, Germany increases weapon sales by 70%, transfers to the Middle East up 38%






06:18 GMT, April 28, 2009 The world arms trade has increased by 20% in five years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday in its newly released five-year arms transfers report. The watchdog group revealed a significant rise in arms transfers to the Middle East and East Asian countries, as well as the Caucasus countries and Pakistan.

The US was by far the largest arms supplier, accounting for 31% of global weapons exports over the past five years, with South Korea (15%), Israel (13%), and UAE (11%) as its main recipients.

Next to the US, the five largest weapon supplier includes, in order of sales, Russia, Germany, France and the UK.

Russia remains the second largest arms exporter in the world. Mega-deals with China, India, Venezuela and Algeria have helped to maintain Russia's position in the global ranking.

The volume of Germany’s arms exports increased by 70 per cent between 1999–2003 and 2004–2008, and its share of the global market rose from 7 per cent to 10 per cent. Much of this increase was due to exports to European destinations, which grew by 123 per cent. The two largest recipients were Greece and Turkey which, between them, accounted for nearly one-third of German exports. In recent years, both countries have received Leopard-2A4 tanks as well as licenses to build submarines.

China was the largest recipient of conventional arms during the last five-year period, followed by India and the UAE, which rose from 16th place in just four years. Transfers to the Middle East were 38 per cent higher in 2004–2008 than in 1999–2003. During 2004–2008, 34 per cent of all transfers to the Middle East went to the UAE, while Israel received 22 per cent and Egypt 14 percent.

Commenting on the 38% rise in weapons transfers to the Middle East, SIPRI Researcher Pieter Wezeman said, “During the past five years we have seen the re-emergence of the Middle East as a major recipient of conventional weapons systems. While we are a long way from the levels reached in the early to mid-1980s, this is still a worrying trend in a region beset by multiple sources of potential conflict and limited intergovernmental trust and transparency.” More than 200 US combat aircraft and more than 5,000 guided bombs have been sold in this area.

China has been importing a smaller volume of conventional arms in recent years since Beijing is working on further developing its own indigenous weapons industry and capabilities.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute analyzed data over a five-year period to give an average that it considers more reliable than only looking at an individual year.

http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/299/

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