SE Asia's shopping spree for arms
SE Asia's shopping spree for arms
Sin Chew Daily, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia
Malaysian government recently ordered some RM1.2 billion worth of missile systems from UK and Russia, and additional three submarines form France at an undisclosed price. Last month, during his visit to Poland, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad also ordered 64 tanks and armored vehicles worth RM950 million. The military equipment together with related services cost a total of RM1.14 billion. In addition, Defense Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak also announced during his visit to Russia last month that Malaysia would purchase 10 Mi-17 choppers from that country.
In other words, within a short period of only one to two months, we have spent billions of ringgit stockpiling sophisticated military equipment and firearms and undergoing large-scale modernization program without keeping the public informed of the rationale for such purchases. This has not only aroused the suspicion of our people, but also sparked anxiety among our neighbors.
Besides Malaysia, other regional countries such as Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam have also made bookings for state-of- the-art weapons. This sudden spurt of arms purchases has initiated worries of an arms race in Southeast Asia.
Having gone through the depressing financial crisis and the uncertainties that came with the Sept. 11 attacks on America, regional economies have begun to show signs of recovery. Due to improved purchasing power, regional countries have made generous bookings for new weapons, including those with superior combat capabilities. For instance, Singapore recently bought 20 units of F-16c fighters and state-of-the-art medium range air-to-air missiles in a bid to enhance its air combat capabilities. In addition, Singapore also took orders of six Lafayette ocean cruisers. Due to the recent row between Singapore and Malaysia on a number of issues such as water supply and land reclamation, the latest purchases have invariably triggered the prospect of a regional arms race.
Other than these two countries, other ASEAN member states such as Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines also joined in the race, taking orders of U.S. and French fighters as well as new generation Ukrainian warships, among others.
The Philippines, on the other hand, receives $100 million military assistance from U.S. as it steps up its effort to wipe out Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremists in the south.
From past experiences, the pattern of arms purchases in Southeast Asia has been closely linked to the region's economic development. The better the economy, the stronger the appetite for sophisticated weapons.
While the regional economic outlook has definitely improved of late, it has not reached a stage as to warrant any arms race. We can safely say that the worries for a turbulent global situation is the real cause behind all the rush.
From the outside, Southeast Asia looks perfectly peaceful and calm. That is, nonetheless, not the real thing.
Since U.S. President George W Bush assumed the office early last year, he has tried to befriend Southeast Asian countries in a bid to counterbalance the rise of China, seriously tipping the regional military equilibrium.
Due to this political concern, aggravated by the push by Western arms suppliers, regional countries begin to grab up weapons. While it is necessary for regional countries to step up their defense capabilities, they must also guard against any vicious arms race so as not to pose serious threat to the security of the region in whole.