A new study has found that several Asian countries are sharply increasing their spending on weapons and military research, expanding foreign industrial partnerships while also working to strengthen their domestic defense industries in response to a worsening security environment.
Even as regional countries eventually strive for independence, outside industrial assistance is still essential, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies' (IISS) annual Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment, which was published on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
“Recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, coupled with worsening US-China strategic competition and deterioration of the Asia-Pacific security landscape, may lead to a rising tide of defence-industrial partnerships,” it read.
“Competitive security dynamics over simmering flashpoints ... feed into the need to develop military capabilities to address them.”
Among the major countries of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, spending on defense procurement and research and development increased by $2.7 billion between 2022 and 2024, reaching $10.5 billion.
The increase coincides with the fact that, on average, the countries spent 1.5% of their GDP on defense in 2024—a sum that has remained largely stable over the past ten years.
The majority of essential weapons and equipment are still imported into Asia-Pacific countries, according to the report, which was made public ahead of this weekend's annual Shangri-La Dialogue defense gathering in Singapore.
These include war planes, submarines, drones, missiles, and sophisticated electronics for intelligence and monitoring.
Uncertainties resulting from the protracted crisis in Ukraine, the security policy of the Trump administration, and regional tension over Taiwan and the disputed busy waterway of the South China Sea are set to dominate the informal Singapore gathering of international defense and military experts.
According to the report, European businesses have a significant and growing regional presence through technology transfer, joint ventures, and licensed assembly agreements, but Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are becoming more active and making gains.
The UAE now has a wide range of partners, including rival India's Hindustan Aeronautics and China's Norinco, a massive weapons company.
The report, which drew lessons from India's two-decade partnership with Russia to manufacture the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile, stated that joint development operations are not always simple.
The research also noted that although India is the country that fields the dreaded weapon, exports have been hindered by a lack of a defined plan, with supplies to the Philippines, its first third-party customer, beginning only in 2024.
The development of the weapon might be made more difficult by closer connections between China and Russia, especially if Moscow decides to put ties with Beijing first in order to create a hypersonic missile.
