In this article, we look at the 10 weakest militaries in Asia. You can skip our detailed analysis of the current defense spending trends in the continent, and head over directly to the 5 Weakest Militaries in Asia.
According to the latest figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military spending registered its steepest rise since 2009, increasing 6.8% from 2022 to total $2.44 trillion in 2023. This was the ninth successive year in which the world’s military spending had risen, with all major regions, including the Americas, Europe, and Asia witnessing an increase.
In 2023, $560 billion was spent on defense across Asia, increasing 3.6% year over year. Of this, $411 billion was incurred in East Asia, which represented 73% of the continent’s total defense spending. On the other hand, defense spending in South Asia was recorded at $98.2 billion, whereas $47.8 billion was expensed in Southeast Asia. The least expenditure in the continent was noticed in Central Asia, where only $1.8 billion was spent during the year.
Defense expenditure in Asia has risen by more than 40% since 2014, with a sharp rise being observed in East Asia and South Asia – the two major flashpoints of military and diplomatic escalation in the continent. Countries in the region have gotten embroiled in an arms race, and the resultant surge in demand for weapons has created a boom in the global armaments industry.
According to defense experts, the threat of China invading and annexing Taiwan is greater today than it ever was, with Beijing steadily stockpiling its arsenal for the last few decades. In response, the United States, in order to protect its own and Taipei’s interests, has ramped up its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region. Washington has also recently approved sales of weapons worth billions of dollars to Taiwan. In March last year, in a move that soured the relationship further between the United States and China, the American government approved selling new weapons worth $619 million to Taiwan, which included 200 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and 100 AGM-88B HARM missiles, among others. Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) are the primary contractors of the deal.
The arms race between South Korea and North Korea also does not seem to have an end in sight any soon. Kim Jong-un’s regime has been a thorn in Seoul’s side, and has launched over a hundred ballistic missiles over the last two years, signaling Pyongyang’s intentions of not relinquishing its weapons of mass destruction. South Korea in response increased its defense spending by 3.6% last year compared to 2022, incurring $47.9 billion in 2023, which included an order placed in September for 25 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) valued at $5.06 billion. According to Yonhap News Agency, Seoul had already acquired another 40 F-35s from Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) between 2019 and 2022.
The South China Sea continues to remain a point of contention between regional and global powers, with Beijing laying a claim over nearly all of its strategic waterways, while Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines have overlapping claims as well. South Asia also remains hot, as Pakistan and India continue to pile up their arsenals in what is termed as the most weaponized region in the world. The arch-rivals regularly launch newer, improved missiles, and showcase their latest military equipment in parade ceremonies and drills to flaunt their war capabilities to the other.
Countries in the Middle East have also been heavily upgrading their military capabilities to enhance national security, especially after the jolts faced by the Arab Spring in the early 2010s. Saudi Arabia has remained the fifth largest defense spender in the world for two successive years now – 2022 and 2023 – with over $75 billion incurred in military spending in each of these years, including a $3 billion agreement with the United States to purchase 300 MIM-104E Patriot missiles from RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX). There are also reports about RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) moving the production of parts involved in manufacturing the Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia.
All said and done, while defense spending continues to expand significantly in Asia, the increase has not been even within the continent, as was evident from the breakdown of military spending in Asia shared earlier in the discussion. There are regions and countries in the continent where defense expenditure, sizes and inventories of militaries remain small, because of which, these are some of the weakest militaries in Asia.
We now take a look at these countries. If interested, you can also read our article on the 15 Most Powerful Militaries in Asia.
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Methodology
We have considered three broad weighted categories to rank the weakest militaries in Asia. These include the strength of ground troops in terms of manpower, tanks, and armored fighting vehicles (30%), size of the economy and defense spending (30%), and aerial and naval capabilities (40%). Weighted scores for each metric were aggregated to get a final overall score. The 10 weakest militaries in Asia are ranked in descending order of these scores.
Data related to military equipment and defense spending has been sourced from the Global Firepower Index 2024, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and other independent news agencies of various countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was consulted for figures related to countries’ GDP.
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Let’s now head over to the list of the weakest militaries in Asia.
10 Weakest Armed Forces in Asia:
10. Lebanon
GDP (2023): $21.78 billion
Defense Spending (2023): $241.3 million
Active Manpower: 60,000
Tanks: 204
Armored Fighting Vehicles: 4,522
Military Aircraft: 81
Naval Assets: 69
Overall Score: 9.0
We begin with Lebanon, which has the weakest military in the Middle East, and one that faces an asymmetric threat from non-state actors, including militant groups. A major challenge impeding the potential of the Lebanese military is its shortage of logistical equipment and a lack of financial resources. The country’s air force also remains weak, with only nine combat aircraft; the rest of the fleet comprising attack helicopters and transport aircraft.
9. Armenia
GDP (2023): $24.54 billion
Defense Spending (2023): $1.33 billion
Active Manpower: 57,500
Tanks: 221
Armored Fighting Vehicles: 736
Military Aircraft: 64
Naval Assets: 0
Overall Score: 7.6
Next on our list is Armenia. The country has significantly increased its manpower and defense spending in wake of the armed conflict with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2020. Despite that Armenia’s military capabilities remain limited, and the results in the conflict in which it ended up losing territory reflects its weaknesses. The country has a small fleet of battle tanks and military aircraft, and has no naval assets. It has a force of 57,500 personnel when it comes to active military manpower.
8. Laos
GDP (2023): $14.24 billion
Defense Spending (2023): $40 million
Active Manpower: 100,000
Tanks: 130
Armored Fighting Vehicles: 1,880
Military Aircraft: 34
Naval Assets: 45
Overall Score: 6.4
Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, with a population of 7.5 million people. It has the weakest military in Southeast Asia and one of the weakest in Asia, with only 130 battle tanks, 34 military aircraft, and 45 naval assets. It has a sizable number of active military personnel and a large fleet of armored fighting vehicles; however, these are not sufficient to help the country to shrug off its reputation of being a weak link when it comes to military strength in the continent.
7. Nepal
GDP (2023): $41.34 billion
Defense Spending (2023): $418.9 million
Active Manpower: 95,000
Tanks: 0
Armored Fighting Vehicles: 2,216
Military Aircraft: 15
Naval Assets: 0
Overall Score: 6.2
Nepal is one of the weakest militaries in Asia with no battle tanks and naval assets. Its fleet of armored fighting vehicles is the country’s only recognizable area of military strength. The military aircraft fleet of Nepal includes no combat aircraft, with all 15 of these aircraft either being transport jets or combat helicopters. Nepal relies heavily on India for most of its military equipment. Due to the country’s weak military, there has been growing concern in India over Nepal becoming a hub for cross-border spying against Delhi’s security interests.
6. Afghanistan
GDP (2023): $14.94 billion
Defense Spending (2023): $278.3 million
Active Manpower: 80,000
Tanks: 20
Armored Fighting Vehicles: 6,555
Military Aircraft: 17
Naval Assets: 0
Overall Score: 5.8
Afghanistan is sixth on our list of the weakest militaries in Asia. After the collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s government in 2021, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) were replaced by the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate Armed Forces as the national military of the country. Most of the military equipment in Afghanistan’s inventory, especially the armored fighting vehicles, is what was left behind by the American-led coalition. Afghanistan has no naval assets, only 17 military aircraft, and 20 battle tanks, according to the Global Firepower Index. There has been a scarcity of information that comes out Kabul after the Taliban takeover, but rough estimates suggest the group has about 80,000 fighters that now form part of the national military.
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Disclosure: None. 10 Weakest Militaries in Asia is originally published on Insider Monkey.