This volume identifies the pattern of military spending in the Southeast Asian region over the past ten to fifteen years and provides explanations for the variations in spending rates. Two overview essays evaluate the role of threat perceptions and systemic variables on the shaping of defence spending while a third examines the methodological problems involved in assessing defence expenditures. In the case studies that follow, eight Southeast Asian countries are looked at systematically to see how their heterogeneous defence spending patterns are shaped by factors such as the geopolitical environment, the sense of threat and vulnerability, the decision-making structures, the military procurement patterns, and external affiliations.

Why have Southeast Asian states seemed to be rearming over the past decade? Are they improving their defense capabilities to confront a rising China, or are the activities driven by other considerations, such as the need to replace aging equipment? This paper addresses these questions by providing a regional, rather than country-specific, overview of Southeast Asia's defense capability development. Specifically, it presents empirical regional patterns of defense spending, weapons import, and force structure. It examines three existing explanations for Southeast Asia's arms drive: (1) External threat: China's rising military threat and aggressive behavior, (2) Market economics: the structural dependence on the global defense market, and (3) Technological requirement: Individual armed forces need to replace their aging Cold War-era equipment.

This title was first publishd in 2002. This work uses the concept of the "arms dynamic" to identify and assess the various factors which influenced arms acquisitions of Southeast Asian states during the second Cold War period from 1979 to 1989, providing an essential basis for understanding contemporary developments. The book provides a comprehensive and systematic explanation of the reasons for arms purchases in SE Asia during the 1980s and aims to fill a gap in the literature by fully exploring arms procurement processes in the region prior to the end of the Cold War.