compared to the combined 58 percent of exports from the U.S. and Russia, a new study says.
China's share
of the global arms market rose 143 percent during the years from
2010-2014, a period during which the total volume of global arms
transfers rose by 16 percent over the previous five years, the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute said in a report released
Monday.
Its share of the
world market was up from 3 percent in the 2009-2014 period, when China
was ranked ninth among exporters of warplanes, ships, side arms and
other weaponry, said the institute, known as SIPRI.
The data show
the growing strength of China's domestic arms industry, now producing
fourth-generation fighter jets, navy frigates and a wide-range of
relatively cheap, simple and reliable smaller weapons used in conflicts
around the globe.
China had
long been a major importer of weapons, mainly from Russia and Ukraine,
but its soaring economy and the copying of foreign technology has
largely reversed the trend, except for the most cutting-edge designs and
sophisticated parts such as aircraft engines.
China supplies weapons to 35 countries, led by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, SIPRI said.
Chinese
sales included those of armored vehicles and transport and trainer
aircraft to Venezuela, three frigates to Algeria, anti-ship missiles to
Indonesia and unmanned combat aerial vehicles, or drones, to Nigeria,
which is battling the Boko Haram insurgency in its north.
China's
comparative advantages include its low prices, easy financing and
friendliness toward authoritarian governments, said Philip Saunders,
director of the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the
U.S. National Defense University.
"Generally
speaking, China offers medium quality weapons systems at affordable
prices, a combination attractive to cash-strapped militaries in South
Asia, Africa and Latin America," Saunders said.
Notable
successes include a co-production deal with Pakistan to produce the
JF-17 fighter, widespread sales of the basic but effective C-802
anti-ship cruise missile, and an agreement to sell the HQ-9 air defense
missile system to Turkey that has run into controversy over its
incompatibility with NATO weapons systems.
China
also has exploited niche markets such as North Korea and Iran that the
West won't sell to, emphasizing its attractiveness to impoverished
countries and pariah states, said Ian Easton, research fellow at The
Project 2049 Institute, an Arlington, Virginia-based Asian security
think tank.
Both those U.S.
foes appear to have received satellite jamming and cyber warfare
capabilities from China, along with technologies to break into private
communications and spy on government opponents, Easton said.
"All
of these sales should be very disconcerting to American policymakers and
military leaders," he said, calling China's rise to the third-place
spot among exporters a "disturbing development" that could threaten the
security of the U.S. and its allies.
China
also offers leading-edge drone technology at competitive prices. One
model, known variously as the Yilong, Wing Loong or Pterodactyl, has
become especially popular with foreign buyers, although Chinese secrecy
surrounding such sales makes it difficult to know how many are in
service and where.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV quoted retired
People's Liberation Army Gen. Xu Guangyu saying at an air show two years
ago that the unmanned aircraft, which can be armed with two guided
missiles, would cost only about $1 million each. That is about 10 to 20
percent of the price of a comparable U.S. model such as the MQ-1
Predator. Rumored buyers include the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan
and Saudi Arabia.However, China's incremental growth and the yawning gap with industry leaders America and Russia show the limitations of its aspirations.
The U.S. retained a 31 percent share of the global arms market, exporting to at least 94 recipients, SIPRI said. Countries in Asia and Oceania took 48 percent of U.S. exports, followed by the Middle East with 32 percent and Europe at 11 percent, it said.
Russia was second with a 27 percent global share, 39 percent of which went to India — the world's largest arms importer overall. China took 11 percent of Russia's exports, followed by Algeria.
SIPRI uses a
five-year moving average to account for fluctuations in the volume of
arms deliveries from year-to-year and doesn't provide monetary values,
which are often distorted by governments providing weapons as gifts or
at below-market prices.
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