摘要
After the end of the Cold War, military spending and arms purchases of many countries( regions) continue to show a rising trend, especially in East Asia. However, the East Asian countries military spending share of GDP does not change significantly, and is generally lower than the overall level before the end of the Cold War, and the armaments build-up does not develop into a vicious expansion situation. Dynamic factors of arms development in East Asia is multifaceted and cannot simply be attributed to the so-called "competitive pressure" onto each other. The inherent rationality for replacing the existing weapons, institutionalizing military production and emerging domestic security threats as well as the "action-reaction" factor also exert significant impacts. The impact of "technological imperative" factor, leading to great enthusiasm of the East Asian countries to buy advanced armaments, and also to a certain blind arms development, should not be underestimated. With the U.S. strong "return to Asia", competitive arms development in East Asia would be further strengthened, the result of which should attract great concerns among East Asian countries.
After the end of the Cold War, military spending and arms purchases of many countries( regions) continue to show a rising trend, especially in East Asia. However, the East Asian countries military spending share of GDP does not change significantly, and is generally lower than the overall level before the end of the Cold War, and the armaments build-up does not develop into a vicious expansion situation. Dynamic factors of arms development in East Asia is multifaceted and cannot simply be attributed to the so-called 'competitive pressure' onto each other. The inherent rationality for replacing the existing weapons, institutionalizing military production and emerging domestic security threats as well as the 'action-reaction' factor also exert significant impacts. The impact of 'technological imperative' factor, leading to great enthusiasm of the East Asian countries to buy advanced armaments, and also to a certain blind arms development, should not be underestimated. With the U.S. strong 'return to Asia', competitive arms development in East Asia would be further strengthened, the result of which should attract great concerns among East Asian countries.
