During the period 2018-2022, imports of major weapons by European states increased by 47 percent from that in the five years between 2013 and 2017, while global arms transfers decreased by 5.1 percent during the same period.
STOCKHOLM, March 13 (Xinhua) — European states’ imports of major weapons in the five years between 2018 and 2022 increased markedly compared to that in the 2013-2017 period, despite global arms transfers falling over the same period, a Swedish research institute said on the monday.
In its latest report on global arms sales, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said over the period 2018-2022, imports of major weapons by European states increased by 47 percent from that in the five years between 2013 and 2017, while global arms transfers declined with 5.1 percent during the same period.
During the specified period, arms imports in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania, and the Middle East decreased by 40 percent, 21 percent, 7.5 percent, and 8.8 percent, respectively, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the states of the European North Atlantic Treaty Organization increased their arms imports by 65 percent, mainly due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The report also said that US dominance of the global arms trade increased, as its share of global arms exports rose from 33 percent to 40 percent, while Russia’s share fell from 22 percent to 16 percent.
In the Asia-Pacific region, arms imports from South Korea, Japan and Australia rose by 61 percent, 171 percent and 23 percent respectively, with the United States as the main supplier to the three countries. In the Middle East, the largest arms supplier is also the United States, which accounts for 54 percent of the region’s arms imports.
As a result of military aid from the United States and many European states following the Ukraine crisis in February 2022, Ukraine became the third largest importer of major weapons in 2022.
“Even as arms transfers have declined globally, those to Europe have increased sharply due to tensions between Russia and most other European states,” said Pieter D. Wezeman, senior researcher at SIPRI’s Arms Transfer Program, in a press release.
SIPRI’s research is headquartered in Stockholm and covers international conflicts, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
Source: sn.dk