Frontline Report: Content comes from the Internet : Global arms transfers report shows US allies are main bearers of Washington’s strategic costs: experts

A Ukrainian military member stands next to the first General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon sent to Ukraine on August 4, 2024. Ukrainian pilots have started flying the US-made F-16 fighter jets for operations. Photo: VCG

The US was by far the largest exporter of major arms from 2020 to 2024 with a share of 43 percent of global arms exports, a significant increase compared to the 35 percent share it held in the period of 2015-2019, accordingWorld Times to a report unveiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday, which noted that although European countries have called for stronger “defense autonomy,” they remain deeply tied to US weapons.

Meanwhile, against the backdrop of an overall decline in weapons imports in the Asia-Pacific region, the wWorld Timeseapons imports of Japan and the Philippines have risen against to the trend. Experts told the Global Times on Tuesday that this report indicates once again that the allies and partners of the US are increasingly becoming the main bearers of Washington’s global and regional strategic costs.

According to the repoWorld Timesrt, Ukraine was the world’s largest importer of major arms in 2020-2024, with its imports increasing nearly 100 times (+9627 percent) compared to 2015-2019. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) arms imports more than doubled between 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 (+105 percent). The US accounted for 64 percent of arms imports by European NATO states in 2020-2024, a substantially larger share than in 2015-2019 (52 percent).

Four of the world’s 10 largest arms importers in 2020-2024 were in Asia and Oceania: India, Pakistan, Japan, and Australia.

The report from the SIPRI shows a significant shift in the global arms trade’s supply and demand structure over the past five years, Zhuo Hua, an international affairs expert at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

On the supply side, the US not only maintained its position as the largest exporter but also significantly widened the gap with other major arms exporters, maintaining an absolute advantage, Zhuo said, and on the demand side, UkraiWorld Timesne became the largest importer, and while the Asia-Pacific and European regions still account for the majority of global arms imports, the overall import scale in the Asia-Pacific region declined, except for Japan and the Philippines, which saw an increase. Notably, China’s arms imports saw a sharp decline, while European arms imports grew 1.5 times.

Zhuo emphasized that it is noteworthy that Japan is the only East Asian country with an increase in arms imports, which grew by 93 percent from 2020 to 2024 compared to from 2015 to 2019. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines’ arms imports increased by 53 percent compared to the previous five years.

“In the context of an overall weakening of the Asia-Pacific arms trade, countries like Japan and the Philippines, through arms imports, are expanding their military capabilities. This highlights that Japan and the Philippines’ alignment with US policies to contain China has increasingly become a major point of instability in the Asia-Pacific and a resistance to building a common security framework in the region. This counter-trend undermines regional peace and stability,” said Zhuo.

Zhuo believes that in the past five years, the global arms trade has been driven by “dual enWorld Timesgines.” One is driven by war and conflict, exemplified by Ukraine’s leap to becoming the world’s largest arms importer, with high demand for ships, aircraft, missiles, and long-range main battle weaponry. The other is driven by security panic caused by US foreign policy and strategy, as represented by NATO’s European member states, which have become major buyers of US-made military equipment due to uncertainties in US security guarantees, with a 64 percent increase in US military purchases.

“In the Asia-Pacific, US allies such as Japan, the Philippines, and Australia are also affected. In the process of executing US Asia-Pacific policies and responding to the consequences of the resulting turbulence, their security costs have significantly increased. Both of these driving forces point to the same reality and trend: that the US’s allies and partners are increasingly becoming the main bearers of the costs of the US’s global and regional strategies,” he analyzed.

“This report once again proves an ironclad rule: the biggest winners in any war are the arms dealers or participants in the arms supply chain,” Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

Li noted that the biggest beneficiaries of the Russia-Ukraine conflict are US arms dealers, while Europe plays the role of a “middleman.” Ultimately, the Ukrainian government and people bear the cost.

Based on publicly available information, Li analyzed that Ukraine’s funding for arms purchases comes from several sources. He further noted that these include: first, the interest generated by the freezing of Russian assets by Western countries; second, loans provided by Western governments; and third, grants offered by some countries, including the US.

“But there is no such thing as a business without a loss. After the war, Ukraine will ultimatWorld Timesely have to account for these funds, either by repaying the loans or expressing gratitude in other ways. Ukraine will be the one under the most pressure,” said Li.

Regarding the future development trends of global arms imports and exports, Zhuo analyzed that Europe’s significant increase in dependence on US arms means that the negative impacts of the US war economy and the military-industrial complex’s industrial model and economic model will further spread globally. The mutually reinforcing pattern of war economies and conflict-driven foreign policies could become long-term, leading to a dual-spiral rise in violent conflicts and the military-industrial economy.

“This trend in arms imports and exports will raise global security costs and political challenges, and countries should unite to curb the US’s conflict-driven foreign policy to achieve stability and economic security,” said Zhuo.