Which Asian country has the most powerful military?

[JHBowden]

Any guesses? (It isn't China)

[whistle]

Vietnam

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

1. India

[JHBowden]

2. Nope.

Keep guessing guys!

[billbuckhead]

5. Japan

[formerrepuke]

3. North Korea...

[maxsolomon]

4. indonesia

built by the USA.

[TahitiNut]

6. China, Japan, and South Korea are ranked 3rd, 4th, and 11th ...

... respectively in the world in terms of military spending.

[berni_mccoy]

7. Russia

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[berni_mccoy]

10. Beatcha by THAT much!

:-)

[liberal N proud]

9. China could beat anyone in any war simply because of numbers

The number of people living in China can keep an army manned for a long time regardless of the casualty levels.

[berni_mccoy]

15. A Billion Chinese don't stack up

to Russia's Nuclear arsenal. While China has nukes, Russia has the military infrastructure to win... though it's really a toss-up...

[NewJeffCT]

28. the Russian air force & navy is more advanced, too

yes, China has a huge population... but, they could all be wiped out pretty quickly.

China backed down when Clinton sailed some of our navy off the coast of Taiwan. I think somebody on DU gave some great statistics several months back, and China would have serious trouble defeating Taiwan.

[drfunk]

11. depends on what you classify as 'powerful'

Both China and India have large and powerful militaries, both which are modernizing at an extremely fast rate. Japan has a strong navy and its air force isnt that bad either.

[drfunk]

14. Russia is Eurasian

I wouldnt classify russia as an 'asian' nation just because of its geography. I prefer to use the term eurasian ;)

[JHBowden]

24. Qualitatively I go with Japan.

Despite the hysteria about China, the Japanese also have the highest military spending.

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/world-top-ten-military-spending-countries-map.html

[berni_mccoy]

26. Fastest GROWING does not mean Most Powerful

Russia spends comparitively more than the U.S., about 528 BILLION RUBLES but because of the disparity of our economies, this only amounts to 18 billion U.S. dollars.

Japan seems to spend more because

1. It's building a new military, and
2. It's economy is closer to the U.S. economy

[JHBowden]

29. In dollars, Japan is spending the most.

They remilitarized during the 1990s, even though this isn't reported frequently in the US media.

[fryguy]

30. spending doesn't necessarily mean power

you asked which was the "most powerful" not which spends the most. the power of a military can not be judged solely on the amount spent or even the amount per capita spent.

given the shear size of China's military it has to be considered the most powerful in the region.

and let's also not forget that Japan's military is, by constitutional design I believe, a self defense force. meaning its force projection ability is significantly constrained. so if an aspect of military power is the ability to wage an attack and not merely repel one, theirs is greatly lessened.

[Chef]

12. China

Active Troops

China 2,270,000
US 1,414,000
India 1,298,000
N. Korea 1,082,000
s. Korea 686,000
Pakistan 620,000
Iran 520,000
Turkey 515,000
Vietnam 484,000
Myanmar 444,000
Taiwan 370,000
Thailand 306,000
Indonesia 297,000
Japan 217,000

Singapore has 72,500

BTW: North Korea has an additional 4,700,000 reserve troops.

[jeanarrett]

13. It's Singapore. BTW Russia isn't in Asia. n/t

[berni_mccoy]

16. Really?

Better check your map

http://www.mapsofworld.com/asia-political-map.htm

[drfunk]

17. you better check yours

Asia is classified as beyond the Ural mountain ranges, as shown on the map. Most Russians live in the European part of Russia.

Russia is a Eurasian country.

[berni_mccoy]

25. Russia is still an Asian country

Just because part of it is in Europe doesn't remove it from the continent of Asia.

[drfunk]

19. singapore isnt the most powerful

they dont even spend US$5 billion on defence and their airforce is starting to show its age.

[fryguy]

18. Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau

Since considering that under the Compact of Free association all three countries' external defense is the responsibility of the US that would make their "military" the US military.

Although I'm assuming you're asking about actual, domestic forces and not a labored and lawyer-like answer such as mine. Just had to throw it out there....

[drfunk]

20. yeh i suspected it would be something like that

or saying that the US is because of its bases in Okinawa and Guam

[Devlzown]

21. Israel?

[Lexingtonian]

22. uh, none of them

But I'd guess South Korea is the most militarized society.

[madrchsod]

23. china is at least 20 years away from challenging the usa

on the high seas . the command and control of the chinese military is way behind the usa`s command and control structure. nothing to worry about-yet.

[berni_mccoy]

27. CMon You Guys

It's Russia, Hands Down.

[supernova]

31. South Korea?

Just wondering since they've had to live with the ever-present threat of war from N Korea.

[billbuckhead]

32. Actually now that i think about. It's the US Navy

[paulk]

33. Japan

well trained

modern equipment

[sakabatou]

34. Laos, Cambodia, Lebanon...

Saudi Arabia, Syria, Russia, Mongolia, SIngapore, Marshal Is., Idonesia, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Macao, Vietnam, Phillipines, Borneo, Indosia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgrystan, Tajikstan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Maldives...

Has to be one of these...

[eridani]

35. Pakistan? n/t