Pakistan tops list of weapons purchase from China

STOCKHOLM: Pakistan tops the list of Asian countries that bought more than two-thirds of Chinese exports, buying 41 percent of the total followed by Bangladesh and Myanmar, a Stockholm-based think-tank said on Monday.

 

According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) report, After United States and Russia, China has become the world’s number three arms exporter surpassing Germany and France.

The volume of the multi-billion dollar world arms trade rose 16 percent during the period 2010 to 2014 over the previous five years, the report added.

The figures show that the United States has taken a firm lead with 31 percent of global exports of conventional weapons, SIPRI said, adding that Russia is second with 27 percent.

The next three arms exporters are far behind with about five percent each, and China is only slightly ahead of fourth-ranked Germany and fifth-ranked France.

Pakistan is the main importer of Chinese arms while India is the biggest importer of Russian weapons and South Korean are the biggest importers of  the US arms.