SIPRI Report

17 Jun SIPRI Report

(GS PAPER-2, India and its Neighborhood

Source- The Hindu)

Context-

According to a report published in the SIPRI Yearbook 2021 recently the number of nuclear warheads which are ready and deployed are increasing  globally.

SIPRI Yearbook:

This book is released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) which is involved in the domain of  international armament and conflict. This book assesses the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security.

Key Highlights:

• Nine Nuclear Armed States: At present there are nine nuclear armed states US, Russia, the U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.
  They together possessed an estimated 13,080 nuclear weapons at the start of 2021. Even Russia and the US togetherly have over 90% of global nuclear weapons .However Both the US and Russia have approved the extension of the New start Treaty  but the treaty will expire in Feb 2021.At present  China’s nuclear arsenal consists of 350 warheads . China is modernising and expanding its nuclear weapon inventory. India possessed an estimated 156 nuclear warheads at the start of this year  compared to 150 at the start of l2020, while Pakistan had 165 warheads, compared to last year.
• Largest Military Spenders: The growth in total spending in 2020 on arsenals was largely influenced by expenditure patterns in the United States and China who are first and second largest spenders on arsenal respectively). India’s spending of USD 72.9 billion, an increase of 2.1% in 2020, ranked it as the third highest spender on arsenals in the world.
• Importers of Major Arms: SIPRI has shown 164 states as importers of major arms in 2016-20 in its report. The five largest arms importers were Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and China, which together accounted for 36% of total arms imports according to the report.
• Suppliers of Major Arms: The five largest suppliers of arsenals in 2016-20 – the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China – accounted for 76% of the total volume of exports of major arms.

Recent Instances of Armed Conflict:

• The territorial conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir- The situation in 2020 was  largely reverted to the status quo of relatively low levels of armed violence.
• Border tension between India and China- In June 2020, for the first time in over five decades, the disputed eastern Ladakh region of Kashmir turned into a new battle ground.
• Tigray Region- A new armed conflict broke out in November 2020 between federal government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front who has done massive killing.

Nuclear Weapons:

• Nuclear weapon can be said to be a device designed to release energy in a highly explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of both.
• Fission weapons are popularly referred to as atomic bombs, and fusion weapons are categorized as thermonuclear bombs or, more commonly, hydrogen bombs.

Treaties Preventing Nuclear Proliferation and Testing:

• Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty
• Partial Test Ban Treaty
• The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty 
• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), 

Other Related Initiatives:

• Nuclear Supplier Group
• Missile Technology Control Regime
• Hague Code of Conduct
• Wassenaar Arrangement

India’s Nuclear Weapon Program:

• India conducted its first nuclear test in May 1974, but  remains outside both the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as well as Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
• However, India did have a  facility-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) .
• India got admitted as a member into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016, Wassenaar Arrangement in 2017 and Australia Group in 2018.
• India maintains its commitment to No first use  of nuclear weapons officially 

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