BEIJING: China has overtaken
Germany to become the world's
third-biggest arms exporter,
although its 5 per cent of the
market remains small compared to
the combined 58 per cent of exports
from the US and Russia, a new study
says.
China's share of the global arms
market rose 143 per cent during the
years from 2010-2014, a period
during which the total volume of
global arms transfers rose by 16 per
cent over the previous five years, the
Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute said in a report
released Monday.
Its share of the world market was up
from 3 per cent in the 2009-2014
period, when China was ranked
ninth among exporters of warplanes,
ships, side arms and other
weaponry, said the institute, known
as SIPRI.
The data show the growing strength
of China's domestic arms industry,
now producing fourth-generation
fighter jets, navy frigates and a wide-
range of relatively cheap, simple and
reliable smaller weapons used in
conflicts around the globe.
China had long been a major
importer of weapons, mainly from
Russia and Ukraine, but its soaring
economy and the copying of foreign
technology has largely reversed the
trend, except for the most cutting-
edge designs and sophisticated
parts such as aircraft engines.
China supplies weapons to 35
countries, led by Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Myanmar, SIPRI
said.
