Britain fails to make in top 5 arms exporters ranking for first time since 1950
Iran Press TV
Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:52AM GMT
Britain has been forced down from the world's top five arms exporters list by China, which has for the first time achieved its highest ranking since the cold war, said a Sweden-based research institute.
According to a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Chinese weapons exports have increased by a whopping 162 percent in the five years 2008-2012, compared to the previous five-year period.
China's share in the international weapons sale rose to 5 percent from 2 percent, taking it to fifth position on the global arms exporters ranking, from its earlier eighth ranking, while the volume of global exports of major conventional weapons grew by 17 percent between 2003-2007 and 2008-12.
'China is establishing itself as a significant arms supplier to a growing number of important recipient states,' Paul Holtom, director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Program, said in a statement.
The replacement of the UK marks the first change in the composition of the top five positions in the arms exporters list in past 20 years and it is the first time Britain failed to make in the top five since 1950.
The top five arms exporters list is populated by the U.S., which has 30 percent of the export market share, Russia - with 26 percent market share, followed by Germany with 7 percent and France with 6 percent share in the global exports.
The top five importers for the 2008-2012 include India with 12 percent share in international arms imports, China with 6 percent share, Pakistan and South Korea sharing 3rd position with five percent share in global imports followed by Singapore.
MOL/HE
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