US spurs arms race around China

美国在中国周边刺激军备竞赛

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Li Weichao
Time
2023-03-15 18:01:12

US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announce the details of the plan to equip Australia with nuclear submarines on March 13, 2023. (Photo from Visual China Group)

13日,美国总统拜登、英国首相苏纳克和澳大利亚总理阿尔巴尼斯公布为澳大利亚配备核潜艇的计划细节。(视觉中国)

By Feng Yaren and Da Qiao

冯亚仁、达乔

On March 13, US President Joe Biden held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the AUKUS, a new enhanced trilateral security partnership between the US, the UK and Australia, at the Naval Base San Diego in California, and announced the details of the plan to equip Australia with nuclear submarines. This means that Australia is to become the 7th country in the world to introduce nuclear-powered submarines to its naval fleet.

美国总统拜登13日在加州圣迭戈美国海军基地,与英国首相苏纳克以及澳大利亚总理阿尔巴尼斯就美英澳“奥库斯”三边安全伙伴关系举行会谈,并公布为澳大利亚配备核潜艇的计划细节。这意味着澳大利亚将成为全球第七个拥有核潜艇的国家。

According to the joint statement released by the US, the UK and Australia after the meeting, a phased plan will be adopted to deliver conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines to Australia at the earliest possible date. From the early 2030s, the US will sell three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, with the potential to sell two more if needed.

根据会后美英澳三方公布的联合声明,为尽早向澳大利亚交付常规武装的核动力潜艇,将采取分阶段方案。从本世纪30年代初起,美国将向澳大利亚出售3艘“弗吉尼亚”级核潜艇,如有需要,后续可能再追加出售两艘。

In addition, the US, the UK and Australia will jointly develop a new-type nuclear-powered submarine (SSN-AUKUS) by integrating the technologies of the three countries and combining British design with American combat system. In the future, the UK and Australia will take SSN-AUKUS as their future submarines, and will start to build the new-type submarines in domestic shipyards within 10 years. Australian military officials said that the whole plan is expected to be completed by 2055, with a total cost of USD245 billion. By the 2060s, the Royal Australian Navy plans to launch eight SSN-AUKUS submarines built in Osborne Naval Shipyard, Adelaide.

此外,美英澳将融合三国技术,使用英国的设计和美国的作战系统,合作研制一种新型核潜艇(SSN-AUKUS)。今后,英国和澳大利亚将把SSN-AUKUS作为其未来潜艇,两国将在10年内开始在国内造船厂建造这一型号的潜艇。澳军方官员称,整个计划预计将于2055年完成,耗资2450亿美元。到本世纪60年代,澳皇家海军将拥有8艘在阿德莱德建造的SSN-AUKUS潜艇。

The Australian government's insistence on equipping its naval fleet with nuclear submarines has been questioned at home. Some legislators believed that this move may stir up a fire only to burn itself. People in Australia are concerned about the huge potential risks of the nuclear submarine program in terms of sovereignty, cost and nuclear non-proliferation. Southeast Asian countries also criticized the plan which may trigger an arms race and undermine regional peace and security.

澳政府执意配备核潜艇在国内遭到质疑。有议员认为,此举可能“引火烧身”。澳国内舆论质疑核潜艇计划在主权、成本、核不扩散问题上存在巨大风险。东南亚国家也批评该计划可能引发军备竞赛,影响地区和平与安全。

The US defense budget hit several new heights. The Biden administration unveiled last week a USD 6.8 trillion budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024, of which the defense budget reached an all-time high of USD 842 billion, an increase of 26 billion US dollars over the previous year. The Pentagon held a press conference on March 13 to announce the details of the budget, and said that the budget "seriously reflects the importance the US attaches to strategic competition with China". At the press conference, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced that the goal of the US defense budget is to ensure that China "considers the risks of aggression".

美国防预算创多个“新高”。美国拜登政府上周公布总额达6.8万亿美元的2024财年联邦政府财政预算案,其中国防预算达到史上最高的8420亿美元,较前一年增加260亿美元。五角大楼13日召开记者会公布预算案细节,并称预算案“严肃反映美方重视与中国的战略竞争”。美国国防部副部长希克斯在记者会上宣称,美国国防预算的目标是确保让中国“明白战争的风险”。

Playing the China card has become a necessary excuse for the US to increase its military spending and expand its military strength. The so-called "response to challenges posed by China" contains its evil intention of seeking unlimited hegemony and absolute security and containing China.

打“中国牌”成了美国增加军费、扩张军力的必用借口。美方所谓的“应对中国挑战”包藏着谋求无限霸权和绝对安全、遏制中国的祸心。

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, said that the US believes in military power in its security concept, and tries to maintain its unhealthy hegemony at the expense of the security of other countries and regions, which have clearly exposed the objective fact that the US is the largest threat to global security.

外交学院国际关系研究所教授李海东表示,美国在安全观中盲目迷信军事实力,以牺牲他国和区域安全为代价,维护自身病态不健康的霸权地位,更清晰地暴露出美方作为全球安全最大威胁源的客观事实。

While provoking regional arms races, the US has increased its arms exports. According to statistics from 2018 to 2022, the import volume of weapons for the ROK, Japan and Australia soared by 61%, 171% and 23% respectively, with the main supplier being the US. In the Middle East, up to 54% of weapons are from the US. Behind the surge of arms orders is the soaring share price of American military giants. The US military industrial complex, taking advantage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to exaggerate its fear of Russia, aims to create opportunities for a new round of arms expenditure, and make long-term profits from this conflict and conflicts in other regions.

美国一边挑动地区军备竞赛,一边加大武器出口力度。数据显示,2018年至2022年,在亚太地区,韩国、日本和澳大利亚的武器进口量分别飙升61%、171%和23%,主要供应国均是美国。在中东地区,多达54%的武器自美国进口。激增的军火订单背后是美国军工巨头们飙升的股价。美国军工复合体借这次俄乌冲突渲染对俄罗斯的恐惧,旨在为新一轮军备支出创造契机,也会从此次冲突及其他地区冲突中长期牟利。

Song Zhongping said that in order to contain China and Russia, the US has had more than one string to its bow: one is to create regional hot issues to expand its arms trade, and the other is to provoke regional arms races and mobilize its allies to fight against China and Russia. China can not take it lightly. Instead, China is supposed to make solid preparations in terms of scientific and technological capabilities, economic capabilities, and military capabilities to effectively respond to the comprehensive challenges launched by the US against China.

宋忠平表示,为了对抗中国和俄罗斯,美国做了两手准备,一边制造地区热点问题,大做军火生意,一边制造地区军备竞赛,动员自己的盟友共同对抗中俄。我们不能掉以轻心,无论是在科技能力、经济能力方面,还是在军事能力方面,都要扎实做好准备,有效应对美国对中国发起的全面挑战。

Editor's Note: This article is originally published on huanqiu.com, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.

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