Jun 29, 2009
the star.com

Recessions and insurgencies certainly capture headlines. Slow-moving arms races? Not so much.

As the global financial crisis fills the news cycle or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dominate broadcasts, these events overshadow the threat of a six-nation arms race in Northeast Asia.

The players are the United States, China, Russia, Japan and North and South Korea. Collectively, they contribute 65 per cent of the $1.4 trillion spent on global defense, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Just to be clear, that’s $1,464,000,000,000 per year.

But, what’s truly alarming is that figure is up 45 per cent in the last decade.

The United States plays a critical role in Asia by stationing about 70,000 troops in Japan and South Korea compared to 48,000 in Afghanistan. Recently, Kurt Campbell, U.S. President Barack Obama’s assistant secretary of state, told his Senate confirmation hearing the United States must increase that presence.

This has long been a threat to China. Earlier this year, SIPRI reported that country surpassed France to become second to the United States in defense spending. In March, it announced another increase for 2009 of an astonishing 14.9 per cent.

The Chinese government says the increase is to accommodate oil prices, salaries and benefits. Not everyone is buying it.

“In Northeast Asia it is not desirable to have countries engaged in a race for military buildup, or increasing their military spending,” said South Korean president Lee Myung-bak at a press conference following China’s announcement.

But South Korea has been increasing spending, too. SIPRI says the bulk of 2008’s four per cent increase in global spending is attributed to South Korea, China and Taiwan. Russia too has tripled spending over the past decade. North Korea’s missile testing continues to incite fear despite minute spending compared to the others.

As the arms race quietly gets heated, the financial crisis could be the silver lining that allows cooler heads to prevail.

It’s hard to believe that much good can come from the economic downturn. As governments look to tighten their budgets, the military is the place to do just that.

Like the economic crippling of the Soviet Union halted the infamous arms race of the Cold War, our current downturn could be the opportunity for us to stop the build-up to a war that hasn’t been declared and find a new direction.

The Six-Party Talks which aimed to establish peaceful relations with North Korean disbanded this year. “These efforts…cannot achieve genuine peace in a climate of ever-increasing military budgets,” says the Pacific Freeze, a campaign headed by the Institute for Policy Studies that aims to bring more public pressure to the issue. “By cooperating on freezing and then reducing military spending, the six countries can help bridge this divide and turn Northeast Asia into a model of peace and sustainable development.”

Admittedly, North Korea is the main deterrent from a peaceful resolution. Kim Jong-Il’s unpredictable behaviour and choice to put his military before his people makes some level of regional defense spending incredible necessary.

But, with everyone forced to be more frugal, it’s time to use the breathing room provided by the financial crisis to pause these increases and re-evaluate the arms race. In that way, maybe the Six-Party Talks have the potential to progress.

“We can continue on a dangerous path seeking ever-elusive ’security’ through military might,” says the Pacific Freeze. “Or we can choose to address the pressing problems facing us all — global economic crisis, climate change, nuclear proliferation.”

Actions speak louder than words — so do military expenditures.