Australia is secondlargest arms importer: Think tank

CANBERRA(DPA)30 SEPTEMBER2019Australia has become the world’s second-largest weapons importer behind Saudi Arabia, according to a Swedish think tank.

Australia went from fourth to second place from 2017 to 2018, according to analysis by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Payments in 2018 for new aircraft such as the joint strike fighters and a 50-billion-australian-dollar (33-billion-us-dollars) submarine project are likely to have helped push Australia up the rankings, the ABC broadcaster reported.

In recent years, Australia has stepped up imports of defence aircraft and vessels amid a perceived threat in the region.

Saudi Arabia continued to dominate the arms import list, while China climbed from sixth position in 2017 to third in 2018. Its neighbour India dropped from second to fourth.