亞太軍備競賽推高全球防務支出 Asian arms race fuels global rise in spending

A growing arms race between China and its neighbours helped to propel global defence spending to its first growth in three years, despite the fall in oil prices hitting some of the arms industry’s biggest clients.

中國與鄰國之間不斷升級的軍備競賽幫助推動全球防務支出錄得三年來首次增長，儘管油價下跌打擊了軍火工業一些最大客戶。

All told, military spending in Asia and Oceania rose 5.4 per cent in 2015, the fastest-growing region in the world, beating even the war-torn Middle East, which grew 4.1 per cent the same year, according to a study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

根據瑞典斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所(SIPRI)的一項研究，整體而言，亞洲和大洋洲2015年軍費開支增長5.4%，是世界上增長最快的地區，甚至超過戰火紛飛的中東，後者同年軍費開支增長4.1%。

Global military expenditure in 2015 was estimated at $1,67tn, an increase of about 1 per cent in real terms from 2014. The last time global expenditure grew was in 2011.

2015年全球軍費開支估計達到1.67萬億美元，按實際價值計算比2014年增長約1%。上一次全球軍費開支增長髮生在2011年。

Sipri cautioned that the Middle East figures were not strictly comparable as data from some countries were missing. Nevertheless, the report highlighted the drop in spending by oil exporters such as Venezuela and Angola, as well as lower than expected increases from Saudi Arabia and Russia.

斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所告誡稱，中東地區的數字嚴格說來不具有可比性，因爲一些國家數據缺失。然而，報告着重指出委內瑞拉和安哥拉等石油輸出國軍費開支下降，而沙特阿拉伯和俄羅斯等石油輸出國的軍費支出增幅低於預期。

Despite a drop in orders from traditional clients, the global arms industry has cashed in on tensions in Asia as China continues to pursue a broad military modernisation programme, while the country’s neighbours, such as India and Vietnam, are buying an unprecedented number of weapons in an effort to counter Beijing’s dominance.

儘管來自傳統客戶的訂單下降，但全球軍火工業從亞洲的緊張局勢中獲利。在中國繼續推進全面軍事現代化計劃之際，印度和越南等鄰國採購數量空前的武器，以求抗衡北京方面的霸主地位。

In total, China spent almost as much as all other Asia and Pacific countries put together in 2015, at $215bn out of $436bn, according to Sipri estimates.

根據斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所估計，總體而言，中國2015年的軍費開支（2150億美元）接近其他所有亞太國家加在一起的數字；包括中國在內的亞太軍費開支總計4360億美元。

The region’s spending grew 64 per cent between 2006 and 2015, the report said.

報告稱，亞太地區的軍費開支在2006年至2015年期間增長64%。

China, however, measures itself not against its neighbours but against the US, which spent more on defence than the next seven countries put together.

然而，中國對本國軍費開支的比較對象不是鄰國，而是美國；美國的軍費開支超過位列其後的七個國家軍費之和。

Increasingly, the US and China have been at loggerheads over Beijing’s defence of its maritime claims in the South China Sea and its creation of artificial islands in the contested waters.

圍繞北京方面捍衛其在南中國海的海洋主權主張，以及中方在爭議海域建造人工島，美國和中國越來越多地陷入對峙。

Countries in the South China Sea region have also begun to raise military spending sharply: the Philippines by 25 per cent, Indonesia by 16 per cent and Vietnam by 7.6 per cent.

南中國海周邊國家也開始大幅增加軍費：菲律賓增加25%，印尼16%，越南7.6%。

Japan, which is challenging China over disputed islands in the East China Sea, also increased spending in 2015 after years of decline, reflecting what it perceived to be a rising threat from both China and North Korea.

正在東中國海爭議島嶼問題上與中國對峙的日本，也在多年軍費下降後在2015年增加支出，反映出其認爲來自中國和朝鮮的威脅上升。

Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia overtook Russia to become the world’s third-largest spender, mainly due to the fall in the value of the rouble and to the kingdom’s military operations in Yemen.

在其他地方，沙特阿拉伯超越俄羅斯，成爲世界第三大軍費支出大國，原因主要是盧布貶值和沙特在也門展開軍事行動。