Sunday, November 18, 2012

Arms Race Update - Asia Goes for Its Guns

Why Peter MacKay believes Asia needs a substantial and permanent Canadian military presence is tough to figure out.   Does Elmer's backward boy think the Asians are somehow lacking in firepower and need Canada to top up their capacity for mayhem?

Rest easy, Pete.   The Asians have their martial needs well in hand.

Indonesia is stocking up on South Korean subs, Chinese and American radar systems.   Vietnam is filling Russia's coffers with orders for subs and jets and has bought Israeli ballistic missiles.  Gee whiz.

Singapore, like everyone else, is also investing in submarines and the latest Swedish warplanes with highly effective anti-ship missiles.

86 more subs are expected to be sailing in Asian waters by 2020, 30 of which will be Chinese.   So what exactly do they need from us, Pete?   Hell, their submarines are going to be better and newer than those old Brit hulks we're finally pressing into service.

They don't need us Pete.   If they do, they'll ask.   So why don't we wait until they can give us a convincing reason why we should be there?
Flush with economic success and wary of China's military expansion, countries are acquiring sophisticated sea- and air-based arsenals that include dozens of submarines that can operate in secret.
The institute said Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia had increased defence budgets by 66 per cent to 82 per cent from 2002 to last year.
Indonesia was buying submarines from South Korea and coastal radar systems from China and the US, Vietnam was getting submarines and combat jets from Russia and had acquired Israeli ballistic missiles, defence analysts said.
Vietnam's defence budget for this year is $US3.1 billion, a rise of 35 per cent over last year. The Philippines has a huge wish-list of equipment it wants from the US and is also approaching Japan, South Korea, France and Britain for defence acquisitions.
Singapore, already the fifth-largest weapons importing nation, looked like keeping its title as the region's biggest spender, allocating $US9.7 billion this year on defence, 24 per cent of its national budget. The city-state's purchases included combat jets from the US and submarines from Sweden.
Thailand was planning to buy submarines and warplanes from Sweden that would eventually be fitted with anti-ship missiles, while arms deliveries to Malaysia jumped eightfold over the five years to 2009.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/arms-race-explodes-as-neighbours-try-to-counter-china-20121118-29k4m.html#ixzz2Cbg2EHhd
Flush with economic success and wary of China's military expansion, countries are acquiring sophisticated sea- and air-based arsenals that include dozens of submarines that can operate in secret.
The institute said Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia had increased defence budgets by 66 per cent to 82 per cent from 2002 to last year.
Indonesia was buying submarines from South Korea and coastal radar systems from China and the US, Vietnam was getting submarines and combat jets from Russia and had acquired Israeli ballistic missiles, defence analysts said.
Vietnam's defence budget for this year is $US3.1 billion, a rise of 35 per cent over last year. The Philippines has a huge wish-list of equipment it wants from the US and is also approaching Japan, South Korea, France and Britain for defence acquisitions.
Singapore, already the fifth-largest weapons importing nation, looked like keeping its title as the region's biggest spender, allocating $US9.7 billion this year on defence, 24 per cent of its national budget. The city-state's purchases included combat jets from the US and submarines from Sweden.
Thailand was planning to buy submarines and warplanes from Sweden that would eventually be fitted with anti-ship missiles, while arms deliveries to Malaysia jumped eightfold over the five years to 2009.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/arms-race-explodes-as-neighbours-try-to-counter-china-20121118-29k4m.html#ixzz2Cbg2EHhd

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