Thanks to China’s growing economic and military ability to produce its own advanced weapons, its arms imports fell by 11 per cent between the two five-year periods, the institute found.
But China remains partly dependent on Russia, Ukraine and France for certain key weapons and components, such aircraft engines, which accounted for 30 per cent of China’s imports. It also imported large transport aircraft, helicopters, vehicles and ships, according to the report.
The report also highlighted the ongoing military build-up in Southeast Asia. “Tensions between several countries with maritime claims in the South China Sea have directly or indirectly driven up demand for major weapons in this subregion,” it said.
Vietnam jumped from being the 29th largest importer to the 10th largest, with its imports climbing 202 per cent, the highest growth rate among the top 10 importers.
The Philippines saw an increase of 426 per cent, and Australia, which accounted for 3.3 per cent of the global total in the 2007–16 period, also invested heavily in naval and air force assets to counter a perceived growing threat from China, according to the report.
