Between 2012-2016, arms imports in terms of volume by countries in Asia and Oceania accounted for 43 percent of global imports, a 7.7 rise compared to the previous 2007-2011 period (AFP Photo/Sergei Supinsky )

Stockholm (AFP) - Worldwide arms trade has risen to its highest level since the Cold War in the last five years, driven by a demand from the Middle East and Asia, a study said Monday. Between 2012-2016, arms imports in terms of volume by countries in Asia and Oceania accounted for 43 percent of global imports, a 7.7 rise compared to the previous 2007-2011 period, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The report said arms imports by states in Asia and Oceania accounted for 43 per cent of global imports between 2012 and 2016 which was an increase of 7.7 per cent compared to 2007–11 period. Saudi Arabia, which leads a military intervention in Yemen that has cost hundreds of civilian lives, was the world's second largest importer after India, increasing its intake by 212 per cent, mainly from the US and Britain. It said India increased its arms imports by 43 per cent between 2007–11 and 2012–16 and in the last four years its global procurement was far greater than those of its regional rivals China and Pakistan. The United States remains the top weapons exporter with a 33 percent market share (up 3 point), ahead of Russia (23 percent, down 1 point), China (6.2 percent, up 2.4 points) and France (6.0 percent, down 0.9 points) passing Germany (5.6 percent, down 3.8 points). "Despite low oil prices, countries in the region continued to order more weapons in 2016, perceiving them as crucial tools for dealing with conflicts and regional tensions," Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, said. Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with SIPRI, said while China is increasingly able to substitute arms imports with indigenous products, India remains dependent on weapons technology from countries such as Russia, the US, European states, Israel and South Korea. Despite staggering figures in the Middle East, which includes a 245 per cent increase in the imports of arms by Qatar, Iran, which is under an arms embargo, received only 1.2 per cent of total arms transfers to the region, the report said. “Despite low oil prices, countries in the region continued to order more weapons in 2016, perceiving them as crucial tools for dealing with conflicts and regional tensions.”

China solidified its position as a top-tier supplier by increasing exports by 6.2% compared to 3.8% in the period between 2007 and 2011, while Germany decreased its exports by 36% between the same period. India was the world’s largest importer of major arms in the last five years and its overseas procurement was far greater than that of China and Pakistan, a Stockholm-based think-tank said on Monday.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the global transfer of weapons between 2012 and 2016 has been higher than any other five-year period since the end of the Cold War, with the Middle East increasing its weapon imports by 212%, second only to India, who accounted for 13% of the world's imports.