The first time the Swedish flag was hoisted over the NATO headquarters in Brussels, which was wet from rain, it marked a significant change in Sweden’s two centuries long policy of neutrality and non-participation. The shift comes as Sweden responds to Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expressed a sense of pride and humility stating that while they acknowledge the high expectations for Sweden, they also hold high aspirations for themselves. He affirms Sweden’s commitment to carrying the weight of responsibilities, liabilities, and hazards in unison with its allies.
Meanwhile, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) has cautioned about a potential arms race. Notably, Europe’s arms imports have witnessed a near doubling (94%) in the past ten years, a definite indication of escalating dangers. US-based arms companies stand behind 55% of this surge, and Russian exports have taken a nose dive during the same period.
Mathew George, the director of Sipri’s Arms Transfer Programme, pointed out that the US’s global reach as an arms provider has expanded. It’s an essential part of its overseas policies, resulting in the US exporting weapons to more countries than ever before. France now stands as the world’s second largest arms supplier, having exceeded Russia. Russian exports have seen a global reduction of 53% in the past half-decade. Data suggests that Russia’s client states decreased from 31 in 2019 to just 12 by 2023.
While Russia has experienced a slump, Sipri maintains that it is still the world’s third-largest arms exporter. Russia usually depends on its own industries for significant armament production, but around 2022-23, it imported flying bombs from Iran and ballistic missiles from North Korea. Sipri points out that this was a breach of the United Nations arms embargo on North Korea.
Having endured a Russian invasion, and receiving military assistance from more than 30 nations since February 2022, Ukraine has risen to be the most sizeable European arms importer during 2019-23.
The Sipri research reveals that the United States has provided 29% of armaments imported by Ukraine, with Germany and Poland trailing behind at 14% and 13% respectively. Interestingly, despite a surge in conflict and a surplus of orders for its weapons businesses, German exports of arms have seen a decline of 14% over the past half-decade. Sipri’s findings place Germany in fifth position.
On the other hand, France has witnessed a dramatically different experience, with a 47% increase in their arms exports in the most recent decade. Major deals involving combat aircraft with India, Qatar, and Egypt have propelled Asia’s contribution to business sales by 42%, while a further 34% has been attributed to the Middle East. Katarina Djokic, a researcher from Sipri, suggests that France has been capitalising on the robust global demand to bolster its weapons industry via exports, with notable success in selling its combat aircraft beyond Europe.
Meanwhile, in Israel, American supplied weapons account for 69% of the nation’s total, while 30% are acquired from Germany.
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