2011 sees fall in arms sales - exports: China's power grows. - According to a study by the Stockholm International Peace Institute (Sipri), arms sales by the 100 biggest international weapons manufacturers fell in 2011, for the first time since the middle of the 1990s. The study, which has been carried out annually since 1989, shows that sales fell by 5% to $410 billion, compared with $411 billion in 2010. According to Sipri, austerity policies and cuts in military spending, as well as postponements in arms acquisition programmes are affecting overall sales of weapons in North America and Western Europe. Withdrawal from Iraq and the drawdown in Afghanistan, as well as sanctions on arms sales to Libya, have also contributed to this fall. Arms sales had already fallen by 1% in 2010, compared to +8% in 2009. This trend continued in 2012. Nonetheless, over the past 10 years, turnover for the 100 leading arms manufacturers listed by Sipri grew by 51%, boosted by conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Sipri's 2011 list, arms companies and military services based in North America and Western Europe continue to dominate this industry. It should be noted that this list does not include Chinese firms because of the lack of available data. 44 US companies account for 60% of the total sales made by the top 100 companies in this sector. The 30 companies based in Western Europe accounted for 29%. The biggest arms manufacturer in the world is still the US Lockheed Martin company, which made $36.3 billion in 2011. With a figure of $31.8 billion, Boeing holds onto its position in second place with the British BAE Systems firm closely on its heels, with a figure of $21.4 billion in sales. The US company Northrop Grumman ($21.4 billion) has fallen from fourth to sixth place, behind its fellow US companies General Dynamics ($23.7 billion) and Raytheon ($22.4 billion). In seventh place, EADS remains in a stable position with sales of $16.3 billion. According to another Sipri report, which draws on new data on international arms transfers, China has become the fifth biggest exporter of conventional weapons in the world. This is the first time that China has joined the five main arms exporters since the end of the Cold War. The five largest suppliers of major conventional weapons during the five-year period 2008-12 were the United States (30% of global arms exports), Russia (26%), Germany (7%), France (6%) and China (5%). This is the first time that the UK has not been in the top five since at least 1950, the earliest year covered by SIPRI data. China's displacement of the UK is the first change in the composition of the top five exporters in 20 years. The volume of Chinese exports of major conventional weapons rose by 162% between 2003-2007 and 2008-2012, and its share of the volume of international arms exports increased from 2 to 5%, notes Sipri. According Sipri, China's rise has been driven primarily by large-scale arms acquisitions by Pakistan. A number of recent deals indicate that China is also establishing itself as a significant arms supplier to a growing number of important recipient states. In the period 2008-12 Asia and Oceania accounted for almost half (47%) of global imports of major conventional weapons. The top five importers of major conventional weapons worldwide - India (12% of global imports), China (6%), Pakistan (5%), South Korea (5%), and Singapore (4%) - were all in Asia. Deliveries to European countries fell by 20% between 2003-2007 and 2008-12. European states seem eager to abandon or reduce a range of arms import plans. Other significant developments noted by Sipri include: 1) Russia accounted for 71% of exports of conventional weapons to Syria in 2008-12 and continued to deliver arms and ammunition in 2012; 2) the Arab states of the Gulf accounted for 7% of world arms imports in 2008-2012; 3) deliveries of weapons system to Venezuela as part of its on-going rearmament programme continued in 2012; Russia accounted for 66% of transfers to Venezuela, followed by Spain (12%) and China (12%); 4) imports by North African states increased by 350 % between 2003-2007 and 2008-12; 5) sub-Saharan states' imports increased by just 5%; 6) Greece's arms imports fell by 61% between 2003-2007 and 2008-12, pushing it from the number four importer to number 15. (IL/transl.fl)