By Jim Lobe*
WASHINGTON, Sep 13 (IPS) – Despite an unusual dip in global weapons sales in 2009, the
United States retained its spot as the world’s top arms
supplier of developing countries, according to an
authoritative new report by the Congressional Research Service
(CRS).
The report, the latest in an annual series produced by CRS
on conventional arms sales, was released Monday as the Wall
Street Journal reported that the Pentagon will ask Congress
as early as next week to approve a record 60-billion-dollar
sale of jet fighters and helicopters to Saudi Arabia.
The proposed sale, which could be supplemented by an
additional 30-billion-dollar deal to upgrade the Saudi
kingdom’s naval forces and yet another for new missile-
defence systems, would not only consolidate Washington’s
position as the world’s dominant arms provider.
It would also by itself exceed the value of all conventional
arms transfers agreements signed worldwide by developing and
developed countries alike in 2009 – 57.5 billion dollars,
according to the CRS report – and would easily restore Saudi
Arabia’s status as the developing world’s biggest arms
consumer, a position from which it was dethroned in 2009 by
new arms agreements signed by Brazil and Venezuela.
“Sixty billion dollars is about half of what the Pentagon
spends on weapons every year,” said William Hartung, a
veteran arms-sales analyst at the New America Foundation.
“It’s a huge bail-out for the military contractors who are
facing a period when Pentagon spending is levelling off.”
The report, which is prepared each year by CRS’s top arms
expert, Richard Grimmett, is widely considered to be one of
the most authoritative on the conventional arms trade
because it is based on classified information, as well as
public data, and its methodology has remained consistent for
nearly three decades. Its statistics include both military
sales and assistance.
As in previous reports, the latest distinguishes between
arms agreements that were signed during the previous year
and actual arms deliveries that took place during the same
year. Actual deliveries often fall short of what agreements
originally called for.
This year’s report, ‘Conventional Arms Transfers to
Developing Nations, 2002-2009,’ found that arms transfers to
developing countries made up nearly 80 percent of the 57.5
billion dollars in all arms transfer orders signed worldwide
during 2009.
The 45.1 billion dollars in new deals in 2009 was down from
48.8 billion dollars in contracts for 2008, consistent with
a more general decline in global arms sales of about 8.5
percent.
“…(T)he clear decline in all arms orders collectively in
2009 reflects, in part, the effect of the international
recession” that broke out in late 2008, the study said.
The impact of the recession on arms sales was particularly
evident with respect to actual arms deliveries last year,
the report noted. The value of all arms deliveries to
developing nations fell just short of 17 billion dollars, it
found. That was the lowest total since the early 1990s and
down from 20 billion dollars in 2008.
In both new arms agreements and in actual deliveries, the
U.S. served as the top supplier to developing countries in
2009, as it has overall since 2002, according to the report.
It signed new arms agreements worth 17.4 dollars – or 38.5
percent of all such deals – in 2009; ahead of Russia,
Washington’s chief arms-sales rival for the past two
decades, which landed 10.4 billion dollars worth of new
deals; and third-place finisher France, which signed 7.1
billion dollars in new contracts, according to the report.
Despite claiming the top spot, Washington’s percentage of
new deals fell sharply from 2008, when it accounted for some
60 percent – or 29.5 billion dollars – of all transfers to
the developing world.
In actual arms deliveries to developing nations, Washington
accounted for 7.4 billion dollars, or 43.6 percent of all
such deliveries.
Russia ranked second with 3.5 billion dollars’ worth of
deliveries, or 20.6 percent, while China ranked third at 1.8
billion dollars, or just over 10 percent. They were followed
by Germany (1 billion dollars), Britain (800 million
dollars), and Israel (700 million dollars), which has
emerged over the past eight years as the world’s seventh
biggest supplier of weapons to developing countries,
according to the report.
Among the recipients of new arms transfers, Latin America
beat out both the Near East and Asia – which have
traditionally dominated the consumer list – to top the
rankings in 2009.
With 7.2 billion dollars in purchases, primarily of
warplanes, Brazil ranked number one among the leading
recipients last year, followed by Venezuela, with 6.4
billion dollars’ worth of new arms deals.
With 4.3 billion dollars in new agreements, Saudi Arabia
took third place. It was followed by Taiwan (3.8 billion
dollars), the United Arab Emirates (3.6 billion dollars),
Iraq (3.3 billion dollars, Egypt (3.0 billion dollars),
Vietnam (2.4 billion dollars), India (2.4 billion dollars),
and Kuwait (1.6 billion dollars).
For the entire period 2002-2009, Saudi Arabia ranked first
with 39.9 billion dollars in signing new arms deals,
followed by India (32.4 billion dollars), the UAE (17.3
billion dollars), Egypt (13.9 billion dollars), and
Venezuela (12.7 billion dollars).
As for actual deliveries in 2009, Saudi Arabia also ranked
first, with 2.7 billion dollars; China, second at 1.5
billion dollars; South Korea, third (1.4 billion dollars);
and Egypt, fourth (1.3 billion dollars). They were followed
by India and Israel (1.2 billion dollars); Pakistan (1.0
billion dollars), Venezuela and Algeria (900 million
dollars), and Iraq (800 million dollars).
For the period 2002-2009, Saudi Arabia dominated the market,
with 31.5 billion dollars in actual arms deliveries – or a
little over half of what the Pentagon is now proposing to
sell in new aircraft.
China and India each received around 14.3 billion dollars in
weapons (much of it Russian-made) over the same eight years,
while U.S.-supplied Egypt (12.2 billion dollars) and Israel
(10.1 billion dollars) have claimed the fourth and fifth
spots, followed by UAE, Taiwan, South Korea, and Pakistan,
according to the report.
Despite its massive arms purchases – including the pending
deal that, if it goes through, will dwarf its predecessors –
Saudi Arabia has not had much occasion to demonstrate its
military prowess. Late last year, it suffered unexpectedly
high losses in battles against Houthi rebels along its
border with Yemen.
“From a practical point of view, these kinds of purchases
have never been very effective,” said Hartung, who noted
that the sales to the Saudis appear to be aimed “more at
buying a relationship with the U.S.”
Congress is not expected to oppose the proposed aircraft
sale, which would save or create some 75,000 jobs across the
country.
Israel has also reportedly gone along with the deal after
receiving assurances that the aircraft involved, notably the
F-15, will not be equipped with long-range missile systems.
In addition, the administration is supporting Israel’s bid
to buy top-of-the-line F-35 fighter jets, which are one
generation beyond the F-15.
“It’s almost like we’re running this little arms race
between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” noted Hartung, who added
that sale’s sheer size will also likely increase tensions
with Iran which may in turn be tempted to buy warplanes from
Russia. “This deal is good for the companies, even if isn’t
good for the region.”
*Jim Lobe’s blog on U.S. foreign policy can be read at
http://www.lobelog.com.
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