THE BOTTOM LINE
Defence is becoming Asia’s next industrial policy
The push for defence indigenisation and exports will boost growth, but more spending demands fiscal discipline
Add BT as a preferred source
ASIA is in the middle of its biggest defence build-up in a generation.
While security is the primary motivating force, defence is also emerging as the region’s next industrial policy in a strategic bet that military spending can seed domestic champions, open export markets and generate technology spillovers.
Over the three decades following the end of the Cold War, Asia reaped a “peace dividend”, as defence spending fell from 3 to 4 per cent of gross domestic product in the 1980s to below 2 per cent by the 2010s.
