Poor Countries, Poor Choices: An Arms Race to Nowhere

According to a new report, developing countries are spending more money than ever on arms. How bad is it? So bad that according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which produced the report, increasing orders of weapons are even provoking "arms race concerns."

As Dr. Paul Holtom, director of SIPRI's Arms Transfers Program, put it: "One can question whether this is an appropriate allocation of resources in regions with high levels of poverty."

SIPRI's numbers are disturbing: Weapon imports to South America grew by a stunning 150% over the last five years when compared to the beginning of the decade. Malaysia's numbers jumped by an astonishing 722%. Singapore followed by 146%, and Indonesia by 86% over the last 10 years. Such countries' voracious weapons acquisitions have also influenced their neighbors' decisions, says SIPRI, noting Vietnam's 2009 long-range combat aircraft and submarine order with concern.

It wasn't just Latin American or Asian countries that ranked as big spenders, either: the north African country of Algeria also made it into the top 10 weapon importer list.

This is bad news on two levels. An arms race anywhere risks disrupting currently peaceful regions. An increase in purchases also means resources are diverted from more legitimate expenditures, such as health care or education spending. Governments from Malaysia to Algeria should be shamed for acquiring expensive war toys while the citizens' needs go unmet. Likewise, weapons-dealing countries should be rebuked for pushing the trade. So let's take a closer look at who they are.

Every year approximately $50 billion worth of arms deals are negotiated, according to SIPRI. While official U.S. figures (PDF) show that developing countries represent the customers for two-thirds the value of all weapons sold, who are their suppliers? According to 2001-2008 numbers, the U.S., Russia, France, the U.K. and China sell a whopping 80% of all weapons.

It's ironic that those five countries are all permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, whose ostensible mission is to maintain global peace and security. Instead, they seem to be busy destabilizing it.

So what is the U.S.'s share in all of this? Accounting for 30% of the export trade, the country remains secure as the number-one arms dealer in the world. Atta boy, Uncle Sam!

As for the poor in developing countries, the arms trade is a double whammy. Not only do they lose out when scarce resources are diverted to buy military hardware -- they're also the ones most likely to be blown to bits by these same weapons.

Photo Credit: Svadilfari