Arms imports by European countries have grown 47% in 2018-2022 compared to the previous five years, countering the global downward trend and tensions with Russia, according to a report released today.
This is according to the Stockholm International Institute for Peace Research (SIPRI) Global Arms Sales Report 2023, published today. arms imports fell in almost all regions: Africa (-40 percent), the Americas (-21 percent), Asia and Oceania (-7.5 percent) and the Middle East (-8.8 percent).
However, arms sales to Europe grew by 47% and East Asia also experienced growth, albeit more moderately, between the two recent periods analyzed by SIPRI – 2013-17 and 2018-22 – largely due to increased political and military tensions in these areas.
“Although arms transfers have declined globally, those to Europe have increased sharply due to tensions between Russia and most other European states,” explains Pieter Wezeman, senior research fellow for the Arms Transfers Program at SIPRI.
This situation in Europe has become particularly aggravated since 2022, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and rising tensions in Asia-Pacific, especially between the United States and China.
“After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, European states wanted to import more and faster weapons. Strategic competition is also visible elsewhere: arms imports to East Asia have increased and those to the Middle East remain at a high level,” added Wezeman.
In terms of the top exporting countries, the United States and France recorded the highest sales growth, while the level of sales in Russia decreased, due to the war in Ukraine, but also since 2014, when Crimea was annexed, leading to the start of several sanction packages.
Russian arms exports fell to eight of the top 10 recipients, including India, where sales fell 37%. Yet global arms exports are still dominated by the United States and Russia, which have consistently been the world’s first and second largest arms sellers for the past three decades.
On the other hand, Russian arms exports to China increased by 39% between the two periods, proving that these two countries remain important commercial allies, especially in the military field.
In Europe, France remains a major arms export power and has strengthened its position with a 48% increase between the two periods, with the main recipients being India, which now has Paris as the second largest arms supplier. , just after Moscow and overtaking the United States.
“France is gaining a larger share of the global arms market as Russian arms exports decline,” explains Wezeman.
Source: DN
