Asia shops for aircraft, arms under China's shadow

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On the civilian side, Boeing signed its largest ever order for commercial aircraft, a $22.4 billion (14.2 billion pounds) deal with Indonesia's Lion Air. The deal was originally announced in November.

Boeing said Lion Air, Indonesia's largest carrier by passenger volume, has ordered 230 airplanes, including 201 737 MAXs and 29 next-generation 737-900 ERs. Lion Air will also acquire purchase rights for an additional 150 airplanes, Boeing said.

CHINA CONCERNS DRIVE SPENDING

IHS Jane's said in a report that while all major Asian nations are forecast to increase spending on defence, China's military budget will soar to $238.20 billion (151.4 billion pounds) by 2015 from $119.80 billion (76.1 billion pounds) last year, growing about 18.75 percent per annum.

That number will exceed spending by all other nations in the region combined, but compares with a base U.S. defence budget of $525.40 billion (334.0 billion pounds) for 2013.

In Asia, Japan and India follow China in defence spending, but both may be constrained in coming years while China is likely to steam ahead, underpinned by strong economic growth, analysts said.

"Japan's government debt and the investment needed after Fukushima will impact defence spend. We will increasingly see budget channelled towards key programmes and equipment," said Rajiv Biswas, chief economist in the Asia-Pacific for IHS Global Insight.

"India's government debt and fiscal deficit is very high as a share of GDP, and the rupee depreciated significantly in 2011, all of which will limit India's defence ambitions."

Nevertheless, Japan's defence budget is forecast to rise to $66.60 billion (42.3 billion pounds) by 2015 from $60.30 billion (38.3 billion pounds) last year. India's military expenditure is likely to be $44.90 billion (28.5 billion pounds) in 2015 from $35.40 billion (22.5 billion pounds) in 2011.