A study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) looked at how self-sufficient 12 countries in the Indo-Pacific were at making their own weapons. India came in at number four. China was at the top of the list, leaving everyone else far behind.
A study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a think tank on global security issues, says that China has a self-reliance score that is more than two and a half times higher than Japan’s.
Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam were all part of the study. Vietnam did not make the final list because there was not enough information about it.
India is still one of the largest importers of major arms in the world, despite its long-term efforts. The study says that from 2016 to 2020, it was the second largest importer.
“Only 16% of India’s total arms purchases come from its own companies. But India is in fourth place on the list because its companies sell a lot of arms and make a lot of licenced weapons. This should be put in perspective by the fact that, after China, India spends the second most on its military in the region.”
The study says that India is very dependent on getting major arms from other countries, many of which are made under licence or as parts for India’s own weapons. “In 2016–20, 84% of everything India bought came from outside the country.”
According to the study, China was still the fifth largest arms importer in the world in 2016-20. However, the implementation of the self-reliance and military-civil fusion policies, along with China’s fast economic growth, means that the Chinese arms industry is meeting the needs of the People’s Liberation Army more and more (PLA).
“So, even though the number of imports was still very high, they only made up 8% of all purchases during the time period. This is the least of the 12 governments that were looked at for this report.”
The report says that Russia’s delivery of combat aircraft and air-defense systems was an important part of China’s imports. However, all of these were delivered by the end of 2019, and no new orders have been announced since then.
“Ninety-two percent of what was bought was made in the country. This share is probably lower than it should be because data on how much China buys from its own production is often unreliable or missing, and the estimates made for this report are on the low side to be safe. Domestic production of major arms includes almost all key parts and high-tech weapons. For example, China is one of only two countries making fifth-generation combat aircraft, and it was the first country to make armed UAVs.”
The study says that China’s domestic production is taking the place of many important imports. “For example, the latest versions of the J-10, J-11, and J-20 combat aircraft and the Y-20 transport aircraft, which will start to be delivered in 2019 and 2020, use Chinese-made engines instead of Russian engines that were imported.”
India comes in fourth, after China, Japan, and South Korea. Taiwan is in fifth place, Australia is in sixth, and Singapore is in seventh.
Indonesia comes in at number nine, Malaysia at number ten, and Thailand at number eight (rank 11).
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