III. The maritime dimension of arms transfers to South East Asia, 2007–11

Chapter:

6. International arms transfers

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2012

Author(s):

Paul Holtom, Mark Bromley, Pieter D. Wezeman, Siemon T. Wezeman, Paul Holtom

The volume of arms transfers to South East Asia in the period 2007–11 was almost 200 per cent higher than in 2002–2006, a significantly bigger rise than the global average increase of 24 per cent. The volume of imports in the region during 2007–11 was the highest for any five-year period since the end of the Second Indochina War (Viet Nam War) in 1975. The increase in the volume of imports was particularly significant for Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Viet Nam (see table 6.6), all of which acquired or ordered quantitatively or qualitatively significant naval platforms and advanced combat aircraft in 2007–11. This section focuses on imports and orders placed with foreign suppliers by these four countries and two other states on the South China Sea—Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines—related to maritime security, first by examining the background to and motives for the acquisitions and then by detailing acquisitions in 2007–11.¹