The latest news from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is that “India is the world’s largest recipient of arms while South Korea is second and Pakistan and China are third in the list”. Worldwide arms sales have grown by 24 per cent in 2007-11 compared to 2002-06, and the major buyers were located in Asia. And Africa, where conflict is routine in many parts, is the lowest purchaser of weapons accounting for only nine per cent of the market; India alone buys 10 per cent of the arms produced around the world.
Most economists look at defence spending as a percentage of a country’s GDP — and if it is above three per cent it is not supposed to be good because it begins to bite into the welfare of the common man. Last time this was computed in Pakistan, defence spending stood at 3.7 per cent of the GDP, or nearly 20 per cent of the national budget. Is this figure acceptable to everyone? Some observers say that military spending on pensions, etc, has been pushed into the civilian budget, which means defence spending is actually much higher.
Asia is spending on arms in a big way. Several reasons could be advanced for this trend. Asia is exempt from the global economic crisis and the economies are growing at a nice clip. When the growth rate is high, states usually start spending more and defence is one sector which is found lagging because of the past focus on civilian economy. Also the fast growing economies of Asia may be diversifying into arms industry and the imports could be related to the requirements of the new sector. China is an example of this. It is now entering the market as a major supplier and also accounts for a large part of Pakistan’s purchases.
India’s economy is on a trajectory of growth and its military buying may raise alarm in Pakistan because Pakistan’s military is reactive to Indian activity in the sector. This would be wrong on many counts. First of all the Indian record buying is only 2.5 per cent of GDP meaning that it has little negative effect on the quality of life of Indians while Pakistan’s defence budget has. Secondly, the world views arms purchases in light of the political intent behind these purchases. India as a status quo power is interpreted as a ‘defensive’ buyer while Pakistan as a ‘revisionist’ buyer is seen as a reactive state nursing the intent of changing the status quo through aggression. India is not a revisionist state vis-à-vis China, although it could be. It chose not be the ‘challenging’ rival.
The world doesn’t see India the way we do. Interestingly, the world also doesn’t see China as America does. Pakistan sees India as a hostile state with intent to harm Pakistan with its hegemonic designs in the region. The world doesn’t agree with Pakistan. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s alarmism about India is understood by the world as springing from its revisionist stance vis-à-vis India. Therefore, when India buys weapons it is all right; but when Pakistan buys arms it is viewed with suspicion. Pakistan’s civilian budget is seen as competing with military budget which stands at 20 per cent of the national budget, while India’s is not. Most aid-givers to Pakistan take care to target civilian projects and try their best to work through NGOs fearing that the government may secretly move the funds around to benefit the army. The Kargil war in 1999, by some estimates depleted the national budget by around two billion dollars.
Pakistan needs arms for defence. It needs arms and training to fight the terrorists although many think fighting them is not ‘our war’. But crippling expenditures can be avoided through a sane, flexible, non-honour-bound foreign policy. This would mean a policy that also realises the imperatives of socio-economic development, and by both sides, given the extreme poverty found in their respective populations. Furthermore, if a permanent peace is established, both countries could cut back on their exorbitant defence spending and use the resources freed up to fund social sector development. Pakistan needs to do that so that its economy can grow at a fast rate and military budgets are thereafter easy on the people of Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2012.
COMMENTS (61)
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We need just enough weapons that would make any attack on us equally expensive for our attackers. Given the fact that we are sitting on an energy corridor and have a a lot of unexplored resources our self this gives a lot of motivation to others to well.... do their cost benefit analysis. I am not sure how long the atomic weapons along with delivery systems keep the equation in our favor.
@J T:
Read your own media:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/3-indian-soldiers-killed-kashmir-shooting-082957419.html
Kashmir is the most militarised region in the world. Why, I wonder?
If you measure 'success' by the number of innocent men, women and children killed- 80,000 to be precise- then yes, India's Kashmir policy has been a success. How many more are you going to kill before it dawns on you that you are fighting a losing battle?
Your worst nightmare of Kashmir separating from India and the domino effect on the other secessionist movements is about to turn into reality. A 'decade'? You must be joking! In this day and age? Market forces move swiftly and the seeds have already been sown by your reckless embrace of the capitalist system. This is the catalyst that will rip India apart- the sucker punch that the US and the West have set you up for- and youre walking right into it.
And China? Well, for starters, say good-bye to Arunchal Pradesh. And we all know the Chinese have many courses!
Enough? Or perhaps, you would like to be enlightened about the 'success story' of Nagaland? Read Arundhati Roy:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2011/sep/30/kashmir-india-unmarked-graves
But if you ask me, it was actually the BBC that put its finger on the REAL problem with Indians like you:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6161691.stm
we are all living in poverty. racing on a never ending track will end up in just repentance. look at the poor society of the tripartite countries. Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Look at the literacy rates. look at your dreams of chasing one or the other. look at how much do you all bother try being superior in arms and arsenal. how much energy you all exert in an endless race which doesn't let you all live up to your potentials. We can all cooperate and emerge like a conglomerate. look at and take examples from the countries like america Canada... Germany, France and many other having trans boundary cooperation. Its time to look for collective benefits through individual potentials. its time to get out of the pathetic conventional mentality of wining or loosing. If Pak and India can work together and have collective benefits of Indus waters. they should and on all the other matters. strong will, commitment, honesty and transparency is required.
@Yash:
Denial AND Ignorance- read this:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/3-indian-soldiers-killed-kashmir-shooting-082957419.html
And please stop trying to console yourself by pretending our problems are as great as yours. Get real.
@Adnan:
lol adnan...have u ever been to kashmir??....700,000 army...thats HALF of india's total army...wonder who is protecting the rest of indian border....cmon man grow up...u dont want me to talk about balochistan right??
@Bangladeshi: Mr. Bangladeshi, if India wanted, it would have annexed the territory in 1971 itself. Also it is on Bangladesh soil most of insurgents waging war on India were sheltered in the past. Indians have supported Bangladesh textile business like no other country. It has cost our economy dearly. What more do you expect from us? To just keep our borders open so that you all can migrate here? Even USA and canada do not have such an arrangement
@J T:
Go ahead bury your head in the sand and join your countrymen who live in a constant state of denial. It will only hasten your decline and bring forward the inevitable: the break-up of India.
Kashmir, one of 'those little irritants'- really? 80,000 civilians dead, an occupying force of 700,000 soldiers to suppress the freedom movement, UN Resolutions, 3 wars.... are you serious? No wonder the Kashmiris hate you!
Stop fomenting trouble in neighbouring countries and look at yourselves. Start by giving the Kashmiris the right to self-determination instead of being the hypocritical 'democratic' farce that you are.
@Bangladeshi
You would have still remained a Pakistani but for a little help from India. Not that you owe India something or anything, but a little regard for history can do wonder to your sense of self esteem.You obviously suffer from an inferiority complex vis a vis India.You need not.Bangladesh on it's own is a great country.
"You kill our countrymen at the border every day and at the same time want us to be grateful, and don’t bring that illegal migrant crap. Not a single Bangladeshi stay in your shinning India."
It's unfortunate that your countrymen are killed.
However, your countrymen should know the basic logic that if they try to enter a country without a proper passport (let alone a visa), then they will be killed.
If your country cannot generate jobs, do something about it, instead of illegally migrating to India.
And It's a fact that there are more Bangladeshis in India illegally staying than Pakistanis.
Generate jobs in your country. Don't bother us like pests.
@ Adnan, Wait and watch, yes, but wait and watch how balochistan, sindhudesh, KP and the others break away from you because that is the clear and present danger today. I am sure India will take care of all those little irritants it has been taking care of for the past several years, even when America and the west was on your side. ;-)
@Bangladeshi: All power to you!
All the Indian trolls are appearing like worms out of the woodwork because they cant bear to read the truth! They think you should be 'grateful' because they 'liberated' you! Well, guess what? The 'two-nation theory' is alive and well with 'the existence of two independent muslim majority states in the west and east of the Indian subcontinent' as envisoned by Jinnah, Fazlul Haq, Suhrawardy and others.
The Indians cant bear the fact that 40 years on, the bond between Pakistan and Bangladesh is stronger than ever and that we share a common hatred towards the 'neighbourhood bully'. But like all bullies, India is basically a coward, as we have seen with the killing of innocent people on the Bangladeshi border.
Pakistan is with you and the day is not far off when Kashmir will be liberated and the vision of those great muslim leaders will be realised. India, meanwhile, will break up into several pieces as the wholesale adoption of the capitalist economic model wrenches the country apart. All that kept the disparate parts of the country together for all these years was the Soviet-style centrist economic model that has now gone. Economic disparity breeds discontent and that disparity between rich and poor is growing every day in India. There are more secessionist movements in India than in any other country in the world (Kashmir, Nagaland, Tripura, Khalistan, Bodoland to name but a few). Its just a matter time: sit back and watch them implode.
@Bangladeshi I am convinced you are Pakistani why the pretense? or ignorant Bangladeshi?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegalimmigrationin_India
Killing of Bangladeshis is wrong but please don't outright deny no one is jumping the border. If you are near China you will already be annexed so be grateful. And we don't push our people to Bangladesh or Pakistan , its the other way around. India is a diverse country with lot of ideologies not just Hindutva. You can try with all your might but you cannot break us. We are proud Indians irrespective of the religion we belong to or the languages we speak or the place where we live in.
@someone
I don't think China or Bangladesh or any other country for the matter are daft enough to trust Pakistanis as we Indians do. we have got some of the dumb politicians who still think Pakistan can see the logic, I appreciate you and your friends are trying to change their mind and I commend your great work regarding this. I request you to post more on this forum and Indian forums so by chance our Politician may look at it and gets the message. Thank you.
Indians can only play the "be grateful to us" card, as if we have to sell our very existence just because Bharat out of its strategic interest helped us, that too 40 years ago. TO gullible indians, you should be grateful to us instead that we allowed you to rob our country for 40 years. Why should we be grateful to you? How is 71 related with todays intl politics. You kill our countrymen at the border every day and at the same time want us to be grateful, and don't bring that illegal migrant crap. Not a single Bangladeshi stay in your shinning India.Its a hoax GOI created and they have yet to prove it. Its a well know fact that the illegal migrant hoax is a strategy to push in poor indian bengali muslims into BD. You guys can't stand your muslim population because of your Hindutva ideology.
@some one:
China is Pak’s friend, Iran is Pak’s friend. Saudi is Pak’s friend as are all gulf countries. Pak is on good terms with bangladesh. so where is it Isolated? Rather India is on bad terms with all its neighbours.
but still chinese banks won't help you against west for laying down pipeline with iran.
iran is pak's friend, but still your own trade with iran is much smaller than it is having with india, though you are next door neighbours.
bangladesh has just started war crime tribunals, to try the criminals of 71' war.
KSA is not fried to anyone, they understand language of money, and we are better in answering them in those terms, than you because of your economy.
come out of your dream, india is on good terms with all neighbours who want to be on good terms with it. nepal, bhutan, and even your neighbour afghanistan is on good terms with us.
typicals endians jealous of our relationship with China. Is there anything they are not jealous about us? what a desperate insecure lot
@Some one who writes "which world are you living in? you need to stop watching crap Aaj Tak News. China is Pak’s friend, Iran is Pak’s friend. Saudi is Pak’s friend as are all gulf countries. Pak is on good terms with bangladesh. so where is it Isolated? Rather India is on bad terms with all its neighbours."
You are the funniest dude on ET. Pakistan is in good terms with China?!!!! China is using you. Wake up. Pakistan is in good terms with Iran?!!! Iran just wants good business with everyone. Pakistan is in good terms with Saudi?!!! Saudi just wants your cheap uncomplaining, slavish labour!!!!
@Munna
which world are you living in? you need to stop watching crap Aaj Tak News. China is Pak's friend, Iran is Pak's friend. Saudi is Pak's friend as are all gulf countries. Pak is on good terms with bangladesh. so where is it Isolated? Rather India is on bad terms with all its neighbours.
@some one: That is why the world has isolated your pakistanis.
If Pakistan, Bangladesh and China unite and have a defence pact with joint war tactics, India is gone.
Pakistan on the west, Bangladesh on the east, and India's father China on its head...
India does not seem to be on good relations with either of its neighbours neither Pak, nor Bangla or China. Its easy to isolate India in the region.
@ Mr righty rightist
Why are indian hindus jealous when pakistani and bangladeshi muslim brothers are united? I smell some frustrated hearts burning.... Also no matter what the internal differences between Pakistanis, but its a fact that we are all united against indian/hindu aggression.
@Some one who writes "Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are predominantly muslims, and following Islam in its true sense can bring us closer. We are brothers. "
Are you truly brothers within Pakistan, brother? Are you in good terms with your own blood brothers?
So funny, so funny that Pakistanis keep harping about muslim brotherhood. I wonder where it disappears when your own people are killed by your own brothers in your own homes.
So funny that people like you live ignorantly and die ignorant, achieving absolutely nothing.
@Bangladeshi Brother
Well Said. I wish that Bangladesh prospers and a close economc relationship with Pakistan is forged. We cannot change the past, but we can work towards a wonderful future. Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are predominantly muslims, and following Islam in its true sense can bring us closer. We are brothers.
@abdulazeez: true, Bangladeshis are not fools,
I would suggest to the Editor that Pakistan needs to resolve some basic internal issues before it has a reasonable chance on resolving it's conflict with India. To start with --- Pakistan's foreign policy is controlled by the military which gains power/prestige through the conflict with India -- that alone has to be changed before permanent peace becomes a possibility.
Pak budget resources for 2012 is Pk 2463 billion, which is about $ 27.37 billion. Pak defense expenditure for 2012 is $ 6.41 billion ie 23.42% of total budget receipts.
India budget resources is Rs 14910 billion, which is $ 292.35 billion. India defense budget for 2012 is $40 billion ie 13.70% of total budget receipts.
@Bangladeshi: Unskilled Bangali labourers working in the middle east should not worry too much about India defence expenditure as it is aimed for a different setting. India considers Bangladesh as a goober and India can crack it with two fingers.
Pak is following the path of the Soviet Union.
@senman : he is not a Bangladeshi he is a Pakistani.....Bangladeshi's never writes this type of idiotism.
Bangladeshi : Get your history right, Before 1971 India did not fund Bangladeshi insurgents because Bangladesh didnt exist before that, Would u care to talk to any of the refugees who ran over to India because of Pak genocide in its own backyard. If u do, I am sure u want to take back your anti India ranting. By mentioning about Water Terrorism, you have exposed your lack of knowledge about water and terrorism. Read about IWT, how it was adhered to even in times of war, how Pak rakes about water theft by INdia by concoting lies, how it lost all its cases with the Neutral Arbitrator. If u talk about all the water stolen in Pakistan by the powerful landlords, may be I will accept your water terrorism concept.
pakistan should increase her defense budget foreseeing china in mind. china will turn against pakistan in near future according to current and coming situation. but it will take time (atleast 6 years.
@shah: paymaster usa? lol how? do you think that all others are like you? ever heard of "standing on one's own feet" term? @Bangladeshi: look, who is talking? your very existence is just because of India's blood and sweat. being religious fanatic doesn't change the facts and truth.
South Asian countries: waging wars with imported weapons since 1948.
@Bangladeshi:
i really dont think ur a bangladeshi...but lets assume u are one...
now....in a city 2000 kms away from bangladesh (mumbai) alone there are estimated 20 lakh bangladeshi ILLEGAL immigrants...now since this is just an estimate...lets take actual figure to be around just 5 lakh...if this is the situation...just imagine how many bangladeshis are working in india to earn their living...
coming to terrorism issue...bangladesh is not spared from being used by terrorists....ulfa and all get funding from bangladesh...even quite a lot of maoists too....but does that mean the govt is funding them??...
for rest of ur allegations...i need CREDIBLE proof...else dont talk in air...
@Bangladeshi, So you are asking for more fire power which includes spending few billion dollars to counter india .ITs like asking for more swords,macheti,knives against opponents with machine guns . If I were you I would use brain to negotiate water deals and if any unfair advantages India demands ,I will raise it in International forum for neutral arbitrators to resolve.. Muslims have to learn to get things done with brain and not always through brawn. Also have you resolved your territorial fights with Mynamar which escalated into big posturing of military in 2008 ?
GDP(PPP) Rank Arms import Rank
India 3 (overtook Japan) 1, makes sense
Pakistan 27 3, makes non-sense
This what the editorial is all about.
PS. : Don't jump and rant Indian poverty, sub Saharan stuff, that's a different topic altogether.
@Bangladeshi: I want BD to have enough firepower to fend off against any territorial or maritime aggression Against who??? The ones who liberated you or the one who persecuted you??
@Bangladeshi: Eat Grass
@Bangladeshi... Chil kid, dont forget your country is part of Least Developed Country in the world, with 90% living below poverty line. It will take BD next 100 years to match military might of pakistan, forget India. So concentrate on what little resource you have and spend it on people and not weapons.
@Salim Ansari: Actually yeah ours is bigger than W.bengal but does it matter? I know we are too weak for India but I want BD to have enough firepower to fend off against any territorial or maritime aggression.
@Balochi liberal: I think you are referring to national budget rather than GDP in your first line. Pakistan's national budget was around less than 2 Trillion PKR while Pakistan's GDP was $175 Bn in 2010 and defense spending was around $5.45 Bn (from the link you have provided - using current conversion rate). Adjusting for inflation differences, it comes to an amount higher than 3% (which is what writer has mentioned in the article as well). However, it still makes up significant portion of national budget because of our high defense expenditure on one hand and very low tax-to-GDP ratio on the other hand.
@Bangladeshi:
Wow what a joke. It’s Pakistan which started all wars in the sub continent including with Bangladesh. Twist facts if you must but not that much.
@shah: Bad choice in comparisons.
Two mistakes,if you had read the report Pakistan and China are number 4 in Asia not the world ,2 Pakistan military budget is 2.7% of GDP not 3.7 and 18% of national budget not 20%,please get your facts Wright thank you .
why peoples sell to them.????
@shah: correction to your correction, the 2011 budget was set to 27%, please go and do some fact finding. Well here it is for your help http://tribune.com.pk/story/182147/budget-2010-2011-defence-spending-up-by-12/. And yes , by the way USA is our (Pakistan's) pay master not anybody else. We would be in stone age and each one of us will be bearded terrorist for hire if they would not be paying us for our infrastructure or get concession from WTO or help us secure duty free trading with EU. So please step out of your bubble and face what is really out there for you in world.
@Bangladeshi: The author has tried to explain that the world does not agree with Pakistan that India is a hostile state with intent of harming Pakistan.You think otherwise. You are entitled to your opinion but sometimes it pays to take a step back and try to understand what others probably know and see - which you do not. Emotional outbursts do not get anyone far. If you analyze rationally you will realize that India as the upper riparian state on the mutually shared rivers with Bangladesh has as much of a right to use the water as Bangladesh, ditto w.r.t. Pakistan. No international agency involved in the cases has ever found truth in the allegations of water theft by India in the eastern (Bangladesh) as well as the western Pakistan) context. Given the history of the sub-continent I will hypothesize that the Indus Waters Treaty has stood the test of time because India is the upper riparian state! Multiple repetitions of a fallacy do not convert it to a truth. The AL and BNP are certainly not retards as they understand what havoc a 3.5% expenditure on Armed Forces would mean to the fledgling Bangladesh economy and it's poor population. And you apparently do not.
@Bangladeshi Please read your history kid you will know what we (India) saved you from. Learn to be grateful and please take back your people who illegally migrated to India before buying big guns.
the article is very sensible and balanced. i don't know the name of the editor, but he is doing a great job of awaking the general people.
@Bangladeshi: i dont know to laugh at you or pity you. it is better to ignore you.
just a correction, our (pak) defence budget is well under 3% of gdp. interestingly your paymaster (usa) has a budget of 4.7% of gdp.
@Bangladeshi: Even 3.5% won’t have much effect on the economy.
Is your GDP bigger than Indian Bengal ? I do not think so. So, take it easy.
Pakistan sees India as a hostile state with intent to harm Pakistan with its hegemonic designs in the region.The world doesn’t agree with Pakistan
What is the author trying to say? India is the most aggressive country in Asia. They funded insurgencies in almost all S.asian countries and now courting the tibetan separists. Heck they even funded Insurgencies in BD after 71 ,they supported the shanti Bahini in CHT. These arrogant indians are doing water terrorism with my country for the last 40 years, they also do water terrorism with PAK don't they, so why is the editorial so compassionate about India.I would have been happy if my country would have increased the defence spending to at least 2.5% of GDP but both AL and BNP are retarded when it comes to defence spending. Even 3.5% won't have much effect on the economy.
Sane words in insane world, the silence here is the indication that any sort of cutting down on military expenses or putting a leash on our military and ISI is not acceptable to even the common man of Pakistan, such is the level of our systematic brainwashing and successfully creating a Boegy man called India by Zia ul haq and his successors.