"Surge in European Arms Imports and Decrease in Russian Exports: Insights from SIPRI Report"

2023-04-23 22:01:11

Status: 04/24/2023 00:01

European countries have increased their arms imports by almost 50 percent in five years. This is reported by the peace research institute SIPRI. The sharp decline in Russian arms exports is also striking.

Von Sofie Donges, ARD-Studio Stockholm

The war of aggression on the whole of Ukraine and the long-tense relations between Europe and Russia are clearly reflected in the statistics of the Stockholm peace research institute SIPRI. For one thing, last year Ukraine became the world’s third largest importer of large arms – behind Qatar and India. This is mainly due to the extensive military aid provided by other countries.

On the other hand, the European countries together have increased their arms imports by almost 50 percent in the past five years, according to Pieter Wezeman from SIPRI. “The war in Ukraine has shown that all forms of weapons are needed in modern warfare. You need ammunition, submarines, combat aircraft, transport helicopters, radar equipment, for example,” says Wezeman. “The European countries are trying to buy that now.”

So far predominantly rejection of fighter jet deliveries

Ukraine is demanding more support – including with fighter jets. Many European countries are currently rejecting this. The fear of an escalation of the war is too great. Wezeman sees a certain double standard in this. After all, the major European export countries such as France and Germany eventually sold such weapons to other conflict regions.

“If countries like Germany or France don’t want to supply fighter jets or long-range missiles to Ukraine, but at the same time sell them to countries like Egypt, Israel, Pakistan or India, then one can ask how these exports are justified and why Ukraine isn’t can get the same weapons,” said Wezeman.

Russia is looking for new trading partners

Russia also needs more weapons for its own armed forces. This is one of the reasons why the country’s exports have fallen by almost a third in the past five years. In addition, sanctions make international trade more difficult. Russia has been the world’s second largest arms exporter for many years – after the United States and ahead of France. According to Wezeman, Russia is now urgently looking for trading partners. “The country has lost a lot of weapons and has to replace them; its own industry is not sufficient for this. That’s why people are looking around for other countries that could supply Russia with weapons,” says the SIPRI expert. “The only politically realistic option is China. The big question is whether China is ready for it.”

Business relations are shifting here: Russia was and still is China’s most important arms supplier. But in the past, China itself has built up knowledge and production capacity, so imports from Russia are slowly declining, according to the SIPRI report.

Slight decline in global arms trade

According to SIPRI, Asia and Oceania continue to be the most important import regions in the world. A possible threat from China or North Korea would lead to significantly more arms purchases in some countries in the region – by South Korea and Japan, for example.

Overall, SIPRI has noticed a slight decline in the international arms trade – mainly due to reduced imports in Africa and America. The enormous demand for weapons from areas with a high potential for conflict will nevertheless bring full order books to the armaments industry in many countries.

The Stockholm peace research institute SIPRI is an independent organization that publishes annual reports on, for example, arms trade and military spending.