The Asia-Pacific Arms Market: Emerging Capabilities, Emerging Concerns. Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies Volume 3, Number 2, March 2004
Abstract
The Asia-Pacific region is the second-largest arms market in the world after the Middle East, acquiring more than $150 billion worth of arms between 1990 and 2002. Some of world's biggest arms buyers are found in this region, including Taiwan, Japan, Australia, China, South Korea, and India. Rising defense budgets reflect the regions rising appetite for arms. The 1997 Asian financial crisis had only a temporary impact on regional military expenditures, and most countries have since resumed arms imports. Recent Asia-Pacific arms imports go beyond mere modernization. Many regional militaries have acquired greater lethality and precision at greater ranges, improved battlefield knowledge, command and control, and increased operational maneuver and speed. These capabilities, taken together, provide local militaries with the kernel of transformational systems that could fundamentally change their concept and conduct of warfare. These arms acquisitions have been aided by intense competition between the worlds leading arms suppliers. As domestic defense markets in supplier countries have contracted, arms exports have become essential to the survival of their arms industries, and suppliers have been increasingly willing to offer their most advanced weapons to Asia-Pacific militaries. The spread of advanced conventional weapons could have an adverse effect on regional security environments where tensions are already high. Such concerns are only multiplied when one considers the types of transformational weapons systems being acquired that could greatly increase the destructiveness of regional conflicts. At the same time, the acquisition of more advanced weapons by U.S. allies and friendly countries could further regional security by strengthening bilateral military alliances and aiding interoperability with U.S. forces in the region.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- AD1032664
Entities
People
- Richard A. Bitzinger
Organizations
- Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies