Southeast Asia builds home-grown defense industry

12.08.2014 cnbc.com (Reuters)

Spurred by tensions with China, Southeast Asian nations are building up their own defense industries, channeling fast-growing military budgets to develop local expertise and lower their dependence on big U.S. and European arms suppliers.

While countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia won't do away with big-ticket imports from giants like Airbus or Lockheed Martin, they are increasingly encouraging domestic defense firms to manufacture hardware locally. With regional defense spending seen rising to $40 billion in 2016, 10 percent higher than last year, some countries are already developing their own exports.

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