Tiny Singapore expected to keep ranking as top arms importer
Singapore - The city-state of Singapore's ranking as the fifth-largest arms importer in the world in the past five years springs from its efforts to modernize its military and further outlays were expected, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
Singapore has rung up big-ticket purchases in recent years, including 110 Leopard battle tanks, 24 F-15SG fighter jets, 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System trucks and six S-70B Sikorsky Seahawk naval helicopters, defence experts told the Straits Times.
In the past five years, Singapore's defence spending rose an average 4 per cent annually, rising from 10.7 billion Singapore dollars (8.5 billion US dollars) in 2008 to 12.3 billion Singapore dollars this year.
Tim Huxley of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore said that as the country continues to be on the lookout for newer and more modern fighting platforms, it is likely to remain among the top five global arms importers in the years to come.
The ranking of Singapore, which has a population of 5.2 million, was determined by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its purchases accounted for 4 per cent of total global arms imports, behind four other Asian nations: India at 10 per cent, South Korea at 6 per cent, and China and Pakistan, each with 5 per cent.//DPA
