SIPRI Yearbook 2022

In News

• Recently, The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) launched the findings of SIPRI Yearbook 2022, which assesses the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security.

Nuclear-armed states

• There are nine nuclear-armed states: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

Major Findings of the report

• Growing nuclear arsenals: Despite a marginal decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2021, nuclear arsenals are expected to grow over the coming decade.
• Russia and US: Although Russian and the US total warhead inventories continued to decline in 2021, this was due to the dismantling of warheads that had been retired from military service several years ago.
  • Both countries’ deployed strategic nuclear forces were within the limits set by a bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaty (START).
  • Russia and the USA together possess over 90 per cent of all nuclear weapons.
• Increase in spending: It stated that spending rose among other major regional powers by 0.9 per cent in India, 7.3 per cent in Japan and 4.7 per cent in South Korea.
  • China’s estimated military spending of $293 billion, the second largest in the world in 2021, was a 4.7 per cent increase from 2020.
• P5 members: all P5 members continue to expand or modernise their nuclear arsenals and appear to be increasing the salience of nuclear weapons in their military strategies.

Challenges as stated by SIPRI Yearbook 2022  

• Increasing arsenals: All of the nuclear-armed states are increasing or upgrading their arsenals and most are sharpening nuclear rhetoric and the role nuclear weapons play in their military strategies.
• No public disclosure: In 2021 the UK declared that it will no longer publicly disclose numbers of operationally available warheads, deployed warheads or deployed missiles.
• France officially launched a programme to develop a third-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN).
• India and Pakistan appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenals, and both countries introduced and continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery systems in 2021.
• Israel which does not publicly acknowledge possessing nuclear weapons is also believed to be modernising its nuclear arsenal.
• North Korea continues to prioritise its military nuclear programme as a central element of its national security strategy.
• Russia has even made open threats about possible nuclear weapon use in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Way Forward

• The 53rd edition of the SIPRI Yearbook reveals both negative and some hopeful developments in 2021.
• Relations between the world’s great powers have deteriorated further at a time when humanity and the planet face an array of profound and pressing common challenges that can only be addressed by international cooperation.

Source: ET