Russian arms have fewer takers in South-East Asia
South Korea looks set to become the region’s new weapons-maker of choice
HARD-WIRED INTO the psyches of those running South-East Asia is that they live in a dangerous world. Their region sees great-power competition between America, China and India. China has overlapping claims in the South China Sea with five South-East Asian states and asserts them aggressively. The professions of amity and consensus that dominate discussions in the regional club, the ten-country Association of South-East Asian Nations, are intended partly to paper over a history of mutual suspicion and conflict. In South-East Asia, strong defence is the starting-point for a strong state. Tiny Singapore spends almost 3% of its gdp on defence, more than any European country apart from Greece, Russia and Ukraine. In Myanmar, the generals turn weapons on their fellow citizens.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Keep your Kalashnikovs”
From the March 25th 2023 edition
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