Asia boosts weapons buys, military research as security outlook darkens
FILE PHOTO: A mock model of the FFM "Upgraded Mogami" class is displayed during the Defence Security Equipment International (DSEI) Japan at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
By Greg Torode and Jun Yuan Yong
Spending on weapons and research is spiking among some Asian countries as they respond to a darkening security outlook by broadening their outside industrial partnerships while trying to boost their own defense industries, a new study has found.
The annual Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment released on Wednesday by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said outside industrial help remains vital even as regional nations ultimately aim for self-reliance.
"Recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, coupled with worsening U.S.-China strategic competition and deterioration of the Asia-Pacific security landscape, may lead to a rising tide of defense-industrial partnerships," it read.
"Competitive security dynamics over simmering flashpoints ... feed into the need to develop military capabilities to address them."
Spending on defense procurement and research and development rose $2.7 billion between 2022 and 2024, it showed, to reach $10.5 billion among Southeast Asia's key nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The spike comes even as the nations spent an average of 1.5% of GDP on defense in 2024, a figure that has kept relatively constant over the last decade.
The study, released ahead of this weekend's annual Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore, said Asia-Pacific nations still rely on imports for most key weapons and equipment.
Such items range from submarines and combat aircraft to drones, missiles and advanced electronics for surveillance and intelligence gathering.
The informal Singapore gathering of global defense and military officials is expected to be dominated by uncertainties stemming from the protracted Ukraine conflict, Trump administration security policies and regional tension over Taiwan and the disputed busy waterway of the South China Sea.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are increasingly active and making inroads, the study said, though European companies have a prominent and expanding regional presence, via technology transfer, joint ventures and licenced assembly deals.
The UAE now operates a diversified network of collaborators, such as China's NORINCO weapons giant and rival India's Hindustan Aeronautics.
Joint development operations are not always easy, the study said, offering lessons from India's two-decade collaboration with Russia to produce the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile.
While the feared weapon is fielded by India, exports have been hampered by lack of a clear strategy, with deliveries to its first third-party customer, the Philippines, starting only in 2024, the study added.
Closer Russia-China ties could further complicate the weapon's development, particularly if Moscow chooses to prioritize ties with Beijing to develop a hypersonic version of the missile.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
30 minutes ago
- Japan Times
U.S. Marine in Okinawa pleads not guilty to sexual assault
A U.S. Marine pleaded not guilty to charges of nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury, in his first hearing at the Naha District Court in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday. The defendant, Lance Cpl. Jamel Clayton, 22, is accused of inflicting an injury lasting about two weeks on a woman in Okinawa on May 26, 2024, by committing violence against her, including wrapping his arms around her from behind for sexual purposes and strangling her, according to his indictment. He said at the lay judge trial, presided over by Judge Kazuhiko Obata, that he did not seek to engage in sexual acts with the woman, adding that he did not strangle or injure her and that he did nothing that the woman could consider to be suspicious. Prosecutors said in their opening statement that Clayton chatted up the woman in a downtown district and tried to take her home. Although she refused, he got into a taxi with her and went to the house of the woman's partner. After getting out of the taxi, he followed the woman into the house and assaulted her while her partner was sleeping. The defense said that Clayton got out of the taxi in front of the house, hugged the woman and left, arguing that he did not commit any acts of violence. Okinawa has seen a series of sexual assault and other incidents involving U.S. military personnel since last year. It was revealed the same year that the Okinawa Prefectural Government had not been promptly given information about sexual assault cases involving U.S. service personnel that was provided to the Japanese government by investigative authorities. Later, the central government decided to ensure that such information is quickly shared with relevant local governments to the maximum extent possible. Okinawa police have set up a system to send reports to the prefectural government when papers on suspects are sent to prosecutors after their arrests. Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities and troops in Japan.
Japan Times
37 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Profitable Fukushima companies closing due to lack of successors
Many companies are shutting down in Fukushima Prefecture even though they are making a profit, due to the aging of managers who run the businesses and their failure to find successors. Data from Teikoku Databank's Fukushima branch shows that out of the 871 firms in the prefecture which discontinued, suspended or dissolved their business last year, 34.9% were in the black. They had to close down because they could not find a way to proceed with business succession smoothly. Experts warn that such business closures are likely to increase in the future amid labor shortage caused by the aging of society and a declining birth rate. They call for more effective measures to tackle the situation, as it could lead to a decline of the regional economy. Reflecting companies' struggles to find successors, the number of inquiries made to a business succession support center, set up in the prefecture by the central government, has been rising every year, reaching 1,156 in fiscal 2023, the latest available data. However, it has not always been easy for people looking for successors and those wishing to take over their businesses to reach agreement, because of mismatches in conditions or career interests. Meanwhile, there have been cases across the country in which companies in metropolitan areas purchase firms in regional areas, then abandon the management at the regional firm and become unreachable, indicating uncertainties in business successions involving wider areas. 'It is important for proprietors themselves to look for potential successors from their immediate surroundings, including their clients,' said an official from Teikoku Databank. The aging of business owners in Fukushima Prefecture is also becoming a bigger problem. According to a 2023 Teikoku Databank survey, the average age of company presidents in the prefecture was 61.3 years old, hitting a record high and topping the nationwide average of 60.7 years old. More than 80% of business owners in Fukushima Prefecture were 50 years old or older, and 4.8% were 80 or older. A nationwide survey conducted last year found that 316 firms in Japan went bankrupt because their owners fell ill or died. A Teikoku Databank official pointed to the need to take prompt action to prepare for unforeseen circumstances. Kimihiro Matsuzaki, 79, the owner of Yanagi, a Japanese restaurant located in front of Iwaki Station in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, is one such person looking for someone to take over their business. The restaurant has been in the black, attracting a lot of customers, but Matsuzaki decided to retire this summer due to his advanced age. He is looking for a person who will take over the business, which he has run for half a century since 1974. 'I desperately want someone to continue what I have achieved,' he said. His specialty dishes using fish caught off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, including bonito sashimi and anglerfish hot pot, are listed on the restaurant's menu. 'My happiest moment is when I see my customers leave with smiles,' Matsuzaki said. He looks serious when he cooks food, but seeing people cheerfully enjoying his dishes makes him smile at times. Matsuzaki opened his restaurant in Iwaki at the age of 29 after five years of training as a chef. His eatery and his friendliness have been appreciated by many people. 'There were tough days, especially at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident, but I didn't want to quit as customers continued to come," he said. As he is nearly 80, however, he feels that his physical strength is nearing its limit. If he can find a successor, he is willing to sell his restaurant at an affordable price. He hopes the successor will also inherit the name of the restaurant, meaning "willow" in Japanese, as he took the name after willow branches that can weather storms, being able to bend instead of break. "People visit Iwaki and enjoy the food. I don't want such places to disappear." This section features topics and issues covered by the Fukushima Minpo, the prefecture's largest newspaper. The original article was published May 9.
Nikkei Asia
41 minutes ago
- Nikkei Asia
We decide defense policy: Australia PM reacts to US spending demand
SYDNEY -- Australia's Prime Minister says his country will "determine our defense policy," after U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called for the country to lift defense spending to 3.5% of its gross domestic product, something that would require tens of billions of dollars of additional funding a year. Hegseth met with Australia's Minister of Defense Richard Marles on the sidelines of the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore, where the U.S. defense chief characterized China as the region's largest threat. He also called on Asian allies to spend more on their militaries, sparking pushback even as the U.S. administration makes aggressive tariffs threats against its trade partners.
