Tuesday, October 27, 2015

It is not only oil anymore: Gulf regimes and their appetite for Western arms

"The political influence of two of the world's biggest arms buyers is growing throughout major capitals in the world as their defense budgets continue to increase. The top five weapons importers — India, Saudi Arabia, China, the UAE and Pakistin — accounted for 33 percent of the total arms imports from 2010 to 2014, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Arms Transfer report released last week. The UAE and Saudi Arabia combined accounted for 9 percent of the total arms imports over that period, eclipsing China's 5 percent stake. During the period, 23 percent of arms transfers to the Middle East region went to Saudi Arabia and 20 percent to the UAE. The US accounted for 47 percent of total arms supplies, Russia for 12 percent and the UK for 10 percent."