Arms Race Update - There Goes the Neighbourhood

Singapore's RSS Swordsman

When Obama announced America's military "pivot" out of the Middle East and into Asia-Pacific, it was bound to shake up the neighbourhood - that plus China's rapid military expansion that the pivot is intended to counter.

When China and the U.S. get testy it's guaranteed to stir up the neighbourhood and so it has.  Aviation Week reports that America's "partners" - Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand - are unlocking their treasuries and going on an armaments buying spree.  For the five-year period of 2013 to 2018, the partners are expected to spend $1.4-trillion on military research and procurement.  That's a 55% jump from the $919-billion spent in the previous five years which, of itself, was far from shabby.

A lot of the spending will be on ships.  The partners are expected to add 263 surface vessels and another 31 submarines atop the substantial number of submarines already acquired over the past five years.

Analysts recognize that China is on edge and already feeling encircled.  All those new ships and subs to be deployed by the partners won't do much to lessen Beijing's concerns.

If you're looking for perspective, consider this.   Even the city-state of Singapore, population 5.3-million, all 710 sq. kms. of it,  has a navy that operates six modern submarines.   Canada, with the longest coastline in the world, has four aging and clapped-out ex-British subs, two of which might actually be able to leave the dock under their own power.