US And China Accelerate Arms Race With Billions In Military Sales To Nuclear Neighbors, As India Turns To

As India and Pakistan escalate military conflicts this week, the U.S. and China find themselves playing a pivotal role in the arms trade in South Asia. Records show that India is increasingly purchasing military equipment from the U.S. and other Western suppliers, while Pakistan is turning to China for its defense needs.

What Happened: In April, the U.S. approved a $131 million military sale to India for advanced SeaVision surveillance software, targeted to improve maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific. Since 2008, as per the Library of Congress, the U.S. has sold at least $24 billion worth of arms to India, including heavy transport planes, maritime patrol aircraft, Apache and Chinook helicopters, and Hellfire missiles.

India was once almost completely dependent on Russia for weapons: from 2008–2024, 59% of its arms came from Russia, but that dwindled to 36% in the last five years. The U.S. now makes up 10% of India's total imports, and new deals are extending into joint production: General Electric has proposed co-producing its F414 jet engine in India, and other U.S. firms are deliberating the coproduction of Stryker vehicles and Javelin missiles.

In contrast, Pakistan, once a key recipient of U.S. military aid, now acquires most of its arms from China. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), about 80% of Pakistan's weapons imports now come from China, including fighter jets, naval frigates, and missile systems.

Why It Matters: The change in arms sales echoes wider geopolitical shifts and heightens the risk of direct confrontation in South Asia. As India increases its stock of U.S. military platforms and Pakistan relies on Chinese-made weaponry, future conflicts between these nuclear-armed neighbors may find the U.S. and China's defense systems clashing head-on. The latest developments in South Asia come amid the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said that he had no intention of easing the 145% tariffs on Chinese goods. This comes just before U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng from May 9 to 12 in Geneva.

Prior to the meeting, Beijing has warned against any attempt to use dialogue as a tool of “coercion and extortion", vowing that it will "never accept" terms unilaterally imposed by the U.S.

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US And China Accelerate Arms Race With Billions In Military Sales To Nuclear Neighbors, As India Turns To Washington And Pakistan Deepens Ties With Beijing Amid Escalating Border Conflict