PAKISTAN/INDIA: Pakistan yesterday expressed concern at the sharp increase in India's defence spending, saying it could trigger an arms race between the south-Asian neighbours.
Last week India increased defence spending to $16.8 billion, a rise of 16.7 percent over the amount fixed by the previous Hindu nationalist-led coalition in February.
Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said the scale of the increase was not justified due to recent moves to improve ties in south Asia, including talks between India and China and thawing relations between old foes India and Pakistan. "Naturally, this would accentuate the asymmetry that we already have in the conventional sphere between Pakistan and India," Khan told a news conference.
"I would like to say this would, wittingly or unwittingly, advertently or inadvertently, accelerate the arms race between the two countries, which we could have avoided." India defended one of its highest peacetime hikes in annual defence expenditure by saying the funds were needed to honour a slew of arms contracts finalised by the previous government of Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Pakistan raised its defence budget by 7 per cent in the financial year 2004/05, which started on July 1st, to 193.92 billion rupees ($3.32 billion) from 180.54 billion rupees spent in 2003/04.