India remains the world’s largest arms importer despite an 11% drop in its weapons procurements between the 2013-17 and 2018-22 periods, Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported on Monday.
According to SIPRI, while the decline was linked to a “complex procurement process, efforts to diversify arms suppliers and attempts to replace imports with local designs,” tensions with Pakistan and China continue to drive Indian arms imports.
Who were the five largest arms importers in 2018–22?
— SIPRI (@SIPRIorg) March 13, 2023
1) India🇮🇳
2) Saudi Arabia🇸🇦
3) Qatar 🇶🇦
4) Australia🇦🇺
5) China🇨🇳
Together, they received 36% of total global arms imports in 2018–22. New SIPRI data on global #ArmsTransfers out now ➡️ https://t.co/FHS8ExK3Cv pic.twitter.com/EDD0xltLsC
The report mentioned that India has retained its position as the world’s largest buyer of arms since 1993. It further noted that while Russia remains the largest arms supplier to India, its share in the Indian import market fell from 64% to 45% during the 2018-2022 period.
SIPRI stated that Russia’s position as India’s main arms supplier is “under pressure” due to three main factors:
- Strong competition from other supplier states.
- Increased Indian arms production.
- Constraints imposed on Russian arms exports due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Moreover, the report found that France has displaced the US as India’s second-largest arms supplier. As per SIPRI, New Delhi’s imports from Paris increased by 489% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, which included the purchase of 62 fighter jets and four submarines.
#Ukraine🇺🇦 became the 3rd biggest importer of major arms in 2022 (after Qatar🇶🇦 and India🇮🇳). It was the 14th largest arms importer globally for 2018–22.
— SIPRI (@SIPRIorg) March 13, 2023
New SIPRI data out now ➡️ https://t.co/qnHO6Qw3Yn pic.twitter.com/oLow7xtyGh
Regarding Pakistan, the report outlined that the country’s arms imports rose by 14% during the same period, with China accounting for 77% of the total imports.