By Li Fuming and Li Ning

李甫明、李宁

ROK's army, navy and air force held a large-scale exercise codenamed Hoguk at major training grounds across the country and in surrounding sea and airspace from October 16 to November 22. The scale and duration of this exercise are the largest in history, and the scenarios for US military intervention have also been significantly increased. Analysts pointed out that the Yoon Suk-yeol government's clinging to Washington will intensify the trend of regional camp politics and undermine regional peace and stability.

10月16日至11月22日，韩国陆海空三军在全境各主要训练场及周边海空域举行代号为“护国”的大规模演习。本次演习规模和时长均创历史之最，同时大幅增加美军介入场景。分析人士指出，尹锡悦政府“随美起舞”，将加剧地区阵营化趋势，破坏地区和平稳定。

Unlike those previous drlls where the US military used to send observers and trainers to commanding-related subjects, the number of US military participants has increased significantly this year. Before the exercise, the US dispatched strategic bombers, aircraft carrier groups and F-22 stealth fighter jets to the ROK.

以往，美军多派遣观察员和训练员参加，主要参与指挥所有关课目演练，但本次演习美军参演力量明显增加。演习开始前，美军派遣战略轰炸机、航母编队历史性驻扎韩国，并调派F-22隐形战斗机前来“助威”，颇有战前“打气”力挺的架势。

During the exercise, in the name of participating in the Vigilant Defense routine air exercise, the US Air Force deployed a batch of F-35A fighter jets and EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft to conduct joint air combat exercises with the ROK armed forces, which has in fact boosted the momentum of the Hoguk exercise.

演习期间，美空军以参加“警惕防御”例行性空中演习为名，增派大批F-35A战斗机、EA-18G电子战飞机与韩军进行联合空中作战演练。虽然美军对派战斗机参加“护国”军演进行降调处理，但时间和内容上的交叉重合，还是助涨了“护国”演习的声势。

During the maritime exercises, the US Navy simultaneously held joint anti-special operations, joint anti-submarine and other exercises in the waters surrounding the ROK. The guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn, P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft, and Apache armed helicopters participated in the drill on key subjects. The US military stationed in the ROK also participated in drills on subjects such as situational awareness and air defense early warning to provide information warfare support to the ROK.

在海上课目演练中，美海军同步在韩国周边海域举行联合反特种作战、联合反潜等课目演练。“芬恩”号导弹驱逐舰、P-8A反潜巡逻机、“阿帕奇”武装直升机参与了关键课目演练。驻韩美军还参与了态势感知、防空预警等课目演练，“给予韩方信息战支持”。

In addition, the US military has assembled two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Western Pacific near the ROK and is conducting a high-profile "quasi-three-aircraft carrier" exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter carrier. It cannotbe ruled out that after the exercise, the US ship formation will continue to deploy to the periphery of the Korean peninsula to support the coordinated landing exercises in the final stage of Hoguk.

此外，美军在靠近韩国的西太平洋地区集结了2支航母打击大队，正高调与日本海上自卫队直升机航母展开“准三航母”演习。不排除演习结束后，美舰艇编队继续向半岛周边部署，支援策应“护国”最后阶段的协同登陆演练。

The Yoon Suk-yeol government thatpursues a pro-American foreign policy hopes to deepen its defense relations with the US through joint military exercises and is acting as the spokesperson for the US in Northeast Asia and even the "Indo-Pacific region". Its introduction of US military elements into its annual final exercise exposed its attitude of blindly following the lead of the US.

奉行亲美外交政策的韩国尹锡悦政府，希望通过联合军演密切与美国的防务关系，正在为美在东北亚乃至印太地区的“代言人”。其在本国军队年度收官演习中引入美军元素，暴露了唯美国马首是瞻的追随姿态。

Since Yoon Suk-yeol came into power, the support rate for his government has been low and the public opinion base has been weak. Exaggerating national security threats, deepening alliances with the US, and consolidating joint defense posture are his usual methods of boosting public opinion. However, these palliative approaches can only relieve the pressure on governance in the short term, and is difficult to solve the problem fundamentally. The ROK has continuously increased the scale of exercises and promoted the upgrade of its armaments on the pretext of addressing security threats, which will only intensify the regional confrontation situation.

自尹锡悦政府执政以来，支持率一直“低开低走”，民意基础薄弱。渲染国家安全威胁、深化与美国的同盟关系巩固联合防御态势，是其拉抬民意的惯用做法。然而，这种做法只能短期内缓解执政压力，难以从根本上解决问题。韩国借口安全威胁，不断加大演习规模、推动武备升级，将加剧地区阵营化对抗局面。

There have been continuous military exercises between the US and the ROK recently, in which the US played the role of commander, trainer, and partner in different types of exercises. In fact, promoting allies to act as "pawns" through similar measures is an important part of the US "Indo-Pacific strategy". It should be pointed out that the relevant actions of the US and the ROK have drawn opposition and protests from people in the region, including the ROK. There were anti-war groups gathering outside the US military camp in the ROK to hold protests during the Hoguk exercise.

对美国而言，近期美韩军演不断，其在不同类型演习中扮演指挥官、教练员、合伙人等角色。实际上，通过类似举措推动盟友充当“马前卒”，是美国印太战略的重要组成部分。需要指出的是，美韩有关做法遭到包括韩国在内地区民众的反对和抗议。“护国”演习期间，有韩国反战团体聚集在驻韩美军营地外举行抗议活动。