South-east Asia splashes out on defence, mostly maritime

Comander and crew of the Challenger-class submarine RSS Chieftian

SINGAPORE - Indonesia is buying submarines from South Korea and coastal radar systems from China and the United States. Vietnam is getting submarines and combat jets from Russia, while Singapore - the world's fifth-largest weapons importer - is adding to its sophisticated arsenal.

Wary of China and flush with economic success, South-east Asia is ramping up spending on military hardware to protect the shipping lanes, ports and maritime boundaries that are vital to the flow of exports and energy.

Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, fuelled by the promise of rich oil and gas deposits, have prompted Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei to try to offset China's growing naval power.

Even for those away from that fray, maritime security has been a major focus for Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

"Economic development is pushing them to spend money on defence to protect their investments, sea lanes and exclusive economic zones," said Mr James Hardy, Asia Pacific editor of Defence Weekly. "The biggest trend is in coastal and maritime surveillance and patrol."

As South-east Asia's economies boomed, defence spending grew by 42 per cent in real terms from 2002 to last year, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute show.

High on the list are warships, patrol boats, radar systems and combat planes, along with submarines and anti-ship missiles that are particularly effective in denying access to sea lanes.

"Submarines are a big thing," said Mr Tim Huxley, Executive Director for Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). "They can do immense damage without being seen, without being anticipated, and they can do that anywhere in the region."

For decades, much of South-east Asia spent little on weapons other than guns and small tanks. Most threats were internal and the umbrella of US protection was deemed enough to ward off any potential aggression from overseas.

With China's growing muscle and more funds available, the shopping lists are getting more sophisticated. Most countries in the region are littoral, so the emphasis is on sea- and air-based defence.

Malaysia has two Scorpene submarines and Vietnam is buying six Kilo-class submarines from Russia. Thailand also plans to buy submarines and its Gripen warplanes from Sweden's Saab AB will eventually be fitted with Saab's RBS-15F anti-ship missiles, the IISS says.

Singapore has invested in F-15SG combat jets from Boeing in the US and two Archer-class submarines from Sweden to supplement the four Challenger submarines and powerful surface navy and air force it already has.

Indonesia, a vast nation of islands with key sea lanes and 54,700km of coastline, has two submarines now and ordered three new ones from South Korea. It is also working with Chinese firms on manufacturing C-705 and C-802 anti-ship missiles after test-firing a Russian-built Yakhont anti-ship missile last year.

"STRATEGIC UNCERTAINTY"

While it is not an arms race, analysts say, the build-up is being driven by events in the South China Sea, long-standing squabbles between neighbors and a desire to modernize while governments have the money.

Piracy, illegal fishing, smuggling, terrorism and disaster relief also play their parts, along with keeping the influential military happy in places such as Thailand and Indonesia.

There is a "general sense of strategic uncertainty in the region" given China's rise and doubts about the US ability to sustain a military presence in Asia, said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

"Southeast Asian countries will never be able to match China's defense modernization," he said, citing Vietnam's push for a deterrent. "If the Chinese did attack the Vietnamese, at least the Vietnamese could inflict some serious damage."

SIPRI says Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand took the lead in boosting their defense budgets by between 66 and 82 per cent from 2002 to 2011.

But the region's biggest spender with the best-equipped military is Singapore. Along with Malaysia and Indonesia, the wealthy city-state sits on the Strait of Malacca that links the Pacific and Indian oceans. A teeming shipping route, the strait is also a narrow "choke point" with huge strategic implications for the energy, raw materials and finished goods flowing east and west.

At US$9.66 billion (S$12.08 billion), Singapore's 2011 defense budget dwarfed Thailand's US$5.52 billion, Indonesia's US$5.42 billion, Malaysia's US$4.54 billion and Vietnam's US$2.66 billion, IISS says.

The situation is far less intense than in North Asia where China, Japan, the United States, Russia and the two Koreas are involved. But Southeast Asia seems to be following the trend of pursuing military systems that can be used offensively.

"It's an indefinite process," said Huxley at IISS. "Governments are likely to go on devoting resources - that are increasing in real terms - to defense and military modernization."

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