CENTRAL ASIA & CAUCASUS: GOVERNMENTS SPENDING HEAVILY ON ARMS
Joshua Kucera
Eurasianet
3/24/10
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have gone on a weapons spending spree
over the past decade, collectively increasing their defense spending
five-fold, according to a report recently released by the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute.
Armenia increased its annual defense spending from $93 million in 1999
to $217 million in 2008, using constant 2005 dollars, SIPRI reported.
Azerbaijan’s military budget rose from $133 million in 1999 to $697
million in 2008, and Georgia’s went from $39.8 million to $651 million
over the same period.
Regional tensions were the primary cause of the buildup, said the
report’s author, Paul Holtom, director of the SIPRI Arms Transfers
Programme.
"In the decade preceding the August 2008 Georgia-Russia conflict in
South Ossetia, military expenditure in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia
increased by more than 500 percent in real terms," Holtom wrote.
"Military reform and modernization have been offered as justifications
for increased military spending and arms procurement in Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia, but unresolved border disputes,
territorial claims and separatism remain among the main national
security threats facing these countries," the report continued.
While SIPRI tried to collect similar data on the countries of Central
Asia, only Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan offered enough information to do
so. Kazakhstan’s defense spending increased from $206 million in 1999
to $855 million in 2008, and Kyrgyzstan’s went from $44.8 million to
$79.3 million over the same period (again using constant 2005 dollars).
Over the last two years, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and
Turkmenistan have all made significant defense procurements from
foreign suppliers, according to SIPRI data, while Armenia and the
rest of the post-Soviet Central Asian states did not.
Azerbaijan got 70 armored personnel carriers (of the BTR-80A variety)
from Russia in 2009, and arranged with South Africa’s Paramount Groups
to start producing Matador and Marauder mine-protected vehicles in
Azerbaijan. Those vehicles will likely be assembled in Azerbaijan, and
could mark the first movement toward Baku’s stated goal of creating
a domestic defense industry that can produce export-worthy military
hardware, Holtom said in an interview with EurasiaNet.
Azerbaijan’s focus on new ground vehicles and recent purchases of
unmanned drone aircraft from Israel, combined with Baku’s increasingly
bellicose rhetoric towards Armenia leaves little doubt that Azerbaijan
is preparing for the possibility of a renewed conflict over its lost
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, Holtom said.
"With the rhetoric that’s been coming out in recent months, it’s clear
to what end this buildup is for, it’s Nagorno-Karabakh," Holtom said.
While Azerbaijan may have a decisive material advantage now, the key
factor in any potential conflict with Armenia would be the posture
of the Russian forces in Armenia, he added. "The Russian reaction
is going to be the key thing, with the security pact that Russia and
Armenia have, whether Azerbaijan feels if it can go for it," he said.
Georgia has made similar purchases to Azerbaijan, including several
land-vehicle buys in 2009, including 70 Ejder armored personnel
carriers from Turkey and 32 tanks from Ukraine, 20 T-72s and 12 T-84s.
Russia’s arms purchases suggest that it was not happy with the way
the war with Georgia turned out, Holtom said, including looking to
buy drones from Israel and Mistral amphibious attack ships from France.
"It was perhaps a tougher fight than they expected," Holtom said.
Kazakhstan obtained 79 armored personnel carriers (BTR-80As) from
Russia in 2009, as well as three ANSAT light utility helicopters and
12 Mi-8 and Mi-17 attack helicopters, all of which were bought in
2007. In addition, Kazakhstan last year signed agreements with Russia
for 10 S-330 surface-to-air missile air defense systems and Su-27,
MiG-27 and MiG-23UB combat planes. From Israel, Kazakhstan completed
its acquisitions of weapons from Israel bought in 2006 and 2007,
including 18 Lynx rocket systems, six Semser 122mm self-propelled guns,
and 18 CARDOM 120mm mortars for use on armored personnel carriers.
Last year, Turkmenistan bought six Smerch multiple rocket launch
systems, 10 T-90 tanks and two Tarantul fast-attack boats for its
nascent navy. The Caspian military buildup will likely continue,
with Kazakhstan considering naval purchases as well, though Astana
appears to be looking to non-Russian sources, Holtom said.
"With Turkmenistan it looks like they’re turning to Russia for the
naval dimension, but Kazakhstan could go to South Korea, the United
Kingdom, Spain and the United States," he said.
Kazakhstan is unique among the Central Asian states for having
implemented sound reforms of the military it inherited from the
Soviet Union, said Erica Marat, author of a recent book on Central
Asian militaries, The Military and the State in Central Asia. Still,
Kazakhstan is likely to continue to heavily favor Russian military
equipment since, as a member of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization, it gets discount rates, Marat added.
Editor’s Note: Joshua Kucera is a Washington, DC,-based freelance
writer who specializes in security issues in Central Asia, the Caucasus
and the Middle East.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
