US No.1 arms exporter,China,India top importers: SIPRI

While the United States remains the worlds biggest arms supplier,China and India are the biggest importers of conventional weapons,according to SIPRI.

While the United States remains the worlds biggest arms supplier,China and India are the biggest importers of conventional weapons,the sales of which rose sharply by 22 per cent globally in 2005-2009,a leading Swedish peace research group said today.

New data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that the US remains the biggest arms supplier,accounting for 30 per cent of weapons exports. The main recipients of American weapons were South Korea,the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

SIPRI data showed that transfers of major conventional weapons rose by 22 per cent in 2005-2009,compared to the previous five-year period with China and India being the biggest importers of conventional weapons.

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While Chinas arms imports accounted for nine per cent of the global defence sales,the same figure for India was seven per cent,SIPRI said.

Eighty-nine per cent of Chinas arms imports originated from Russia,it said while identifying France and Ukraine (three per cent each) as the other major sources of conventional weapons.

In the case of India,Russia supplied 77 per cent of the countrys imported conventional defence equipment while United Kingdom supplied eight per cent and Israel providing five per cent of its arms requirements.

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