The global trade in arms continued to grow over the last half decade, buoyed by an appetite for weapons in the Middle East and a near doubling of exports from China. 
 
 Figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a monitoring group, showed that even as the total trade in weapons grew by 14 percent between 2011 and 2015, the two largest exporters, Russia and the US, managed to capture even greater portions of the pie. American exports made up a full third of the global trade, up from 29 percent between 2006 and 2010. According to a congressional report, US arms sales increased by more than a third in 2014 alone, to $36.2 billion from 26.7 the year prior. SIPRI reported that over the last five years, the US sold "major" weapons to at least 96 countries — just a hair under half the total number of UN member states. 
 
 Russia meanwhile captured a quarter of all exports in SIPRI's most recent assessment, up from 22 percent in the previous reporting period. 
 
 In line with longstanding security alliances in the Gulf, the US sent nearly 10 percent of its total exports between 2011 and 2015 to Saudi Arabia, and a further 9.1 percent to the United Arab Emirates. Both countries are members of the coalition that has intervened militarily in Yemen for nearly a year, largely with American-supplied aircraft and munitions. According to the Congressional Research Service, the US sold them more than $90 billion in armaments and weapons systems since 2010. 
 
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 Overall, imports to the Middle East rose by 61 percent; Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the second and fourth-biggest global importers between 2011 and 2015. Elsewhere in the region, Qatar's imports grew by 279 percent, while Egypt's increased by 37. Weapons purchases by Iraq, which is battling Islamic State militants, rose 83 percent more during the past five years than between 2006 and 2011, continuing a steady flow that began following the US-led invasion of the country in 2003. 
 
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 "Despite low oil prices, large deliveries of arms to the Middle East are scheduled to continue as part of contracts signed in the past five years," said Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher at SIPRI, in a statement. 
 
 Russia sent nearly 40 percent of all its exports to India, followed by sales to China and Vietnam. The latter increased its spending on foreign arms by a whopping 699 percent, catapulting their rank among importers from 43rd to eighth over the past five years. Nearly all of the weapons delivered to Vietnam came from Russia, including 8 combat aircraft, 4 submarines and 4 "fast attack craft." SIPRI assessed that Vietnam's stepped-up purchasing reflected fears of Beijing's growing power in Asia and territorial claims in the South China Sea that overlap with its own. 
 
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 While China still only accounts for 5.9 percent of global arms exports, its share is growing faster that practically any other state. Between 2006 and 2015, it's share of exports rose 88 percent. Most were destined for other Asian countries, including Pakistan. SIPRI noted that Beijing "is increasingly capable of producing its own advanced weapons and has become less dependent on arms imports," which fell 25 percent in the recent reporting period. But China, wrote researchers, "remains partly dependent on imports for some key weapons and components, including large transport aircraft and helicopters, and engines for aircraft, vehicles and ships." 
 
 For the first time, China's weapons exports exceeded those of France, long one of Europe's top arms sellers. From 7.1 percent of global exports between 2011 and 2015, France captured 5.6 percent in the last five years. Germany's share fell even further, from 11 percent to 4.7. The UK's share increased marginally, from 4.1 percent to 4.5 percent. Arms imports to Europe, meanwhile, fell by 41 percent. 
 
 Follow Samuel Oakford on Twitter: @samueloakford ||||| Image copyright AFP Image caption The conflict in Iraq is just one of the factors in a recent rise in arms exports 
 
 International arms sales are a good barometer of the rising tensions in the world. 
 
 According to the latest figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), over the past five years the volume of transfers of major weapons systems was up some 14% over 2006-11. 
 
 And no wonder. Just look at the headlines. 
 
 There are growing tensions in Asia, prompted in large part by China's rise as a regional power. 
 
 The Middle East is in a state of total melt-down with Iraq and Syria in chaos; Saudi Arabia at war in Yemen; and with those countries not engaged directly in conflict all eager to bolster their defences. 
 
 Even in Europe, which perhaps enjoyed something of a "peace dividend" in the wake of the ending of the Cold War, Russia's behaviour has prompted a slow rise in military spending, although this latter phenomenon has perhaps been too recent to figure in Sipri's tables. 
 
 The United States remains the major global arms supplier by a significant margin, accounting for some 33% of sales; its major customers being Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. 
 
 Russia is the second major supplier, with 25% of sales, its principal clients being India and China. 
 
 Arms trade Volume of international transfers 14% Increase in 2011-15 vs 2006-10 74% of exports come from just five countries - the US, Russia, China, France and Germany 
 
 58% comes from the US and Russia alone Thinkstock 
 
 China itself is also developing as an arms seller. 
 
 Indeed Sipri shows that it has leapfrogged over France and Germany into third place, accounting for just under 6% of sales with Pakistan as far and away its largest client. 
 
 China's role as an arms exporter reflects the growing sophistication of its own military industries; a product of its rising military ambitions. 
 
 Lost in the broad aggregate figures is the fact that China's rise provides an additional source of supply for weaponry that has long been the preserve of a small group of western nations. 
 
 The export of unmanned drones is a good example with Chinese-supplied armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle's having been spotted in Nigeria; proof-positive that the days of Beijing simply exporting cheap and cheerful rip-offs of Russian weaponry are over. 
 
 Nonetheless, the fact that China remains a major importer of sophisticated arms shows that it still has a way to go in developing the most advanced weapons systems but the pace of its development is remarkable. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption China has developed itself as an arms exporter and is now the world's 3rd biggest seller 
 
 Both French and German arms sales fell during the past five years, though those for the UK (in sixth position) rose by nearly a quarter. 
 
 On the demand side the five biggest importers of arms in 2011-15 were India, Saudi Arabia, China, the UAE and Australia, who together accounted for some 34% of all arms imports illustrating once again that in Asia and the Middle East re-armament is very much the order of the day. ||||| Saudi imports up 275% in five years, with UK firms estimated to have sold £5.6bn of arms to the country, while imports by European states down 41% 
 
 The international transfer of weapons to the Middle East has risen dramatically over the past five years, with Saudi Arabia’s imports for 2011-15 increasing by 275% compared with 2006–10, according to an authoritative report. 
 
 Overall, imports by states in the Middle East increased by 61%; imports by European states decreased by 41% over the same period. Britain sold more weapons to Saudi Arabia than to any other country. Saudi Arabia is also the biggest US arms market and buys more American arms than British, the report shows. 
 
 UK companies are estimated to have sold more than £5.6bn of arms to the Saudis since 2010, and more than 100 new export licences have been approved since the bombing of Yemen began a year ago. British Typhoon strike aircraft sold to Saudi Arabia are embroiled in a growing controversy over the bombing of civilian targets in Yemen. 
 
 UK arms sold to Saudi Arabia may breach international law in Yemen, Labour says Read more 
 
 The figures are contained in the latest arms sales survey by Sipri, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 
 
 
 
 “A coalition of Arab states is putting mainly US- and European-sourced advanced arms into use in Yemen,” said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher with Sipri’s arms and military expenditure programme. “Despite low oil prices, large deliveries of arms to the Middle East are scheduled to continue as part of contracts signed in the past five years.” 
 
 The report says Saudi Arabia is the world’s second largest weapons importer after India. Elsewhere in the Middle East, arms imports by Qatar rose by 279% over the same period, and imports by the UAE rose by 35%. Egypt’s imports rose by 37%, mainly as a result of a steep rise last year. 
 
 Iran’s arms imports are described in the report as at “a very low level” because of arms embargoes. Tehran is now reported to be seeking to buy new weapons following the recent nuclear deal. 
 
 Last week Russia’s RIA news agency reported that Russia would sign a contract this year to sell a batch of its Sukhoi Su-30SM multi-role fighters to Iran. The US state department said the sale would violate a continuing UN arms embargo if it occurred without advance security council approval. 
 
 
 
 Arms imports by Asian countries have also increased significantly, with supplies to Vietnam, mainly from Russia, rising by 699% in five years, according to Sipri. Vietnam has been building up its armed forces in the face of territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea area. 
 
 China’s arms exports have increased by 88%, with Pakistan its main weapons market. Russia’s main market is India. The Sipri report says the world’s five biggest arms exporters are the US, Russia, China, France, and Germany.
– The global weapons trade is booming, Vice reports, citing numbers from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute that show it grew 14% between 2011 and 2015. That's not surprising—between "tensions in Asia" and a "state of total melt-down" in the Middle East, according to the BBC. "Just look at the headlines," the news outlet states. "In Asia and the Middle East, re-armament is very much the order of the day." Indeed weapons imports by the Middle East have increased by 61% in the past five years, the Guardian reports. And imports are rising even more in Asia, with Vietnam increasing its imports by an astounding 699% in the past five years. The biggest weapons importers in the world are India, Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. As massive as the global weapons trade is, the US dominates it, accounting for one-third of the entire thing. In the past five years, the US has sold "major" weapons to at least 96 countries—or nearly half the membership of the UN—with the major buyers being Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey. A congressional report found the US sold more than $36 billion worth of weapons in 2014. That's nearly $10 billion more than in 2013. Russia remains the world's second largest weapons dealer, accounting for 25% of all exports. Russian weapons are mostly going to India, China, and Vietnam. China is the world's fastest-growing arms exporter, with most of its weapons going to Pakistan. China's share of exports grew by 88% from 2006 to 2015.