Russian arms have fewer takers in South-East Asia
South Korea looks set to become the region’s new weapons-maker of choice
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20230325_ASD001.jpg)
HARD-WIRED INTO the psyches of those running South-East Asia is that they live in a dangerous world. Their region sees great-power competition between America, China and India. China has overlapping claims in the South China Sea with five South-East Asian states and asserts them aggressively. The professions of amity and consensus that dominate discussions in the regional club, the ten-country Association of South-East Asian Nations, are intended partly to paper over a history of mutual suspicion and conflict. In South-East Asia, strong defence is the starting-point for a strong state. Tiny Singapore spends almost 3% of its gdp on defence, more than any European country apart from Greece, Russia and Ukraine. In Myanmar, the generals turn weapons on their fellow citizens.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Keep your Kalashnikovs”
More from Asia
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/20240817_ASD001.jpg)
What if South Korea got a nuclear bomb?
An America First world will force allies to face uncomfortable questions
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/20240817_ASD002.jpg)
Taiwan braces for America’s election
For the opposition, a possible Trump victory is another reason to talk to China
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/20240817_ASP002.jpg)
Thailand’s prime minister is sacked. What next?
The constitutional court has further muddied the country’s messy politics
Afghans are suffering. Don’t expect any tears from the Taliban
Three years on from America’s humiliating departure, the country is ignored
Bangladesh’s new ruler is in a race against time
The country’s police have gone missing
Kishida Fumio, Japan’s prime minister, stands down
The race to succeed him next month is unusually unpredictable