Militarization and escalation of arms-build up have been on the increase in Asia. The increase in defense spending has now become a wider Asian phenomenon.  Military spending of Asia, for the first time in modern history, overtook the European members of NATO in recent years. While Asia witnesses all kinds of strategic and security challenges and threats – from 19th century style territorial disputes to economic rivalry and potential new nuclear weapons states, several Asian countries are witnessing new waves of arms build-up and increase in defense budgets.  A variety of factors explains the new wave of increased military budgets in Asian countries.  Despite the negative impact of the global financial crisis, almost every country in South-East Asia is now involved in arms build-up, which makes it one of the fastest-growing regions for defense spending in the world.  China, Japan, India, and South Korea accounted for more than 80 per cent of total Asian defense spending and Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were all investing in improving air and naval capacities. The shifts in policies of purchasing most modern arms, lead to a situation where the Asia region is sliding into an arms race.

Today, among the nine countries that have nuclear weapons, four of them are in Asia – China, India, Pakistan and North Korea. With India and Pakistan testing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, close on the heels of North Korea’s test launch of a long-range rocket, Asian neighbors are living in the shadow of strategic mistrusts that is holding back nuclear disarmament. Owing to this mistrust among Asian countries, the future of extended nuclear deterrence in East Asia as well as the nuclear disarmament push in Asia was stalled. Other complexities Asia faces in this regard relate to the geopolitical scenario: US allies unwilling to weaken the ‘extended deterrence’ umbrella under which they are defended by American nuclear weapons; China unwilling to cap the growth or modernization of its nuclear arsenal; and the China-India-Pakistan triangle of mistrust and arms competition adding another major obstacle to nuclear arms control and disarmament in Asia. It is observed that the situation could be worsened if the high cost of conventional weapons ever drove a future US Administration to expand the role of nuclear armaments in America’s strategic ‘pivot’ back to Asia. All these factors reflect the susceptibility and the challenges faced in living together in the household of God in peace and security.

The surge of military expenditures in the region these days, by its very nature, reflects the vulnerability of peace and security in Asia. More precisely, it reflects the susceptibility and the challenges faced to live together in the household of God in peace and security. The CCA’s role in this context is to sensitize the churches in Asia about the increasing trend of arms race and militarization and equip them for advocacy among governments and policy makers. Inter-faith initiatives will be made to address the issue in the national contexts.