Surging Global Weapons Transfers Raise Concerns

Surging global weapons transfers are raising concerns about arms races in tension-fraught areas of the globe, a leading peace research group warned Monday.

New data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed that transfers of major conventional weapons rose by 22 percent in 2005-2009, compared to the previous five-year period.

The U.S. remains the biggest arms supplier, accounting for 30 percent of weapons exports, while China and India are the biggest importers of conventional weapons, SIPRI said. It added that Singapore and Algeria both made the top-10 list of major weapons importers for the first time.

SIPRI also said that Iran was the second-largest customer for China's arms industry over the past five years. Sales included more than 1,000 surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles, along with 50 infantry fighting vehicles, and accounted for 14 percent of China's arms exports by value during 2005-2009, according to SIPRI.

While none of the sales violated U.N. sanctions against Iran or other international agreements, they may reinforce perceptions that China's thriving economic relations with Iran are encouraging it to resist supporting a new round of sanctions against Tehran. The U.S. and other Western powers are seeking the measures to pressure Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program.

Overall, China remains a relatively small player in global arms exports, which average around $380 million per year, compared to more than $7 billion for the U.S.

The institute, which uses five-year averages to spot trends in global arms transfers, said the latest data raise concerns about arms races brewing in volatile regions in the Middle East, North Africa, South America, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

"Resource-rich states have purchased a considerable quantity of expensive combat aircraft," Paul Holtom, director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, said in a statement. "Neighboring rivals have reacted to these acquisitions with orders of their own."