APAC Maritime Defense Market Set to be Worth $185.8B in 2016

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The Asia-Pacific maritime defense market is set to be worth $185.8 billion by the end of 2016 resulting from ongoing major naval expansion and modernization in China, India, Japan and South Korea and also though relatively major fleet upgrades in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and other national markets, according to a new report by market analyst visiongain.

"The South China Sea remains the most contested maritime region in the world. By ejecting its neighbors’ maritime assets, vastly expanding and modernizing its navy and constructing artificial islands China has taken an increasingly forward posture in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea. These actions have alarmed other Asia-Pacific nations and have led to military confrontations. They also challenge the US’s influence in Asia. One third of the world’s oil passes through the South China Sea. It consequently has immense strategic importance. So far, 2016 has witnessed a sharp escalation in the militarization of the South China Sea," said Theo Howard, visiongain’s Defense Analyst and the author of the Asia-Pacific Maritime Defense Market 2016-2026 report.

"In July 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international tribunal in The Hague, declared China’s ‘historic claims’ in the South China Sea invalid. It was an unexpectedly wide-ranging and clear-cut ruling, and it has antagonized China. With the five-fold increase in Chinese maritime defense spending since 2003 it is clear this is the most important driver behind other maritime nations’ market growth within our forecast period. Other major Southeast Asian Naval powers have increased their spending by 150% by comparison in the same period. Every coastal nation in the Asia-Pacific region is cognizant of the importance of maintaining a robust maritime security presence in order to defend its maritime sovereignty and trade interests," he added.