West Asia supplies the most extractive resources for the world’s energy consumption, which makes peace an imperative in the region.
Yet tensions are escalating in the region on account of the Israel-Gaza conflict, the hostilities between Iran and Israel, and the attacks and counter-attacks between Israel and Iran-backed militias from Lebanon and Yemen.
Apart from this, the region has also become one of the most heavily militarised in the world.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s ‘Trends in International Arms Transfers 2023’, four of the top 10 largest importers of arms last year were from West Asia, with the U.S. being the main supplier
West Asia accounts for 30% of the global arms imports and spends the most on the military among all other regions
The consistent demand for arms can be attributed to the growing instability in the region fuelled by domestic insurgencies, transnational terrorist attacks, unstable regional boundaries, and, in some cases, foreign policies and the need to project “hard power”.
Importance of peace and stability
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the oil and natural gas rich nation-states, have consistently spent over 5% of their GDP on defence in recent years, the highest among countries in this region.
As the west asian tensions build up more and more, the global energy security is at risk, as the areas like straight of Hormuz, Persian gulf, Red sea are strategic to the movement of export of oil
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