By Wu Jinhuai and Zhang Gaosheng
吴金淮 张高胜
In the movie Lord of War, Nicolas Cage plays an arms dealer, and he has this famous line: "And while the biggest arms dealer in the world is your boss, the President of the US, who ships more merchandise in a day than I do in a year." Although it's a fictional dialogue, it reflects a reality – the US has consistently been the world's largest arms dealer.
在《战争之王》电影中，尼古拉斯・凯奇饰演的军火大鳄有句经典台词：“你们的大老板——美国总统，才是这个世界上最大的军火贩子，他一天卖的军火比我一年卖的还多。”虽是影视作品，但这句台词却非虚构——美国一直是世界上最大的军火商。
Recently, the US Department of State announced that in the fiscal year 2023, US military exports totaled USD 238 billion, a 16 percent increase compared to the previous year. The US has not only maintained its position as the world's largest arms exporter but also reached a historic high in export value.
近日，美国国务院发布消息称，2023财年，美国军品出口总额达2380亿美元，同比增长16%，不仅继续蝉联全球第一大武器输出国，也创军品出口额历史新高。
Propelled by the military-industrial complex, US arms exports have been steadily increasing year after year. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute(SIPRI), US arms exports increased by 14 percent from 2018 to 2022 compared to that of the previous four years, and its global share of arms exports rose from 33 percent to 40 percent.
在军工复合体的推波助澜下，美军贸出口连年攀升。据斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所统计，美国2018年至2022年的武器出口比2013年至2017年增加14％；全球武器出口份额从33％提升至40％。
In Europe, the US has capitalized on the Ukraine crisis to stimulate arms procurement by European and NATO countries, leading to a continued increase in their dependence on US weapons and equipment. In 2023, the US exported nearly USD 30 billion worth of military equipment to Poland, including Apache helicopters, HIMARS rocket artillery systems, and M1 Abrams main battle tanks. The US also exported USD 11.5 billion worth of equipment to Germany, including Chinook helicopters and advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles.
在欧洲地区，美国借乌克兰危机刺激欧洲及北约国家加大武器采购，使得北约、欧洲对美国武器装备依赖度持续上升。2023年，美国向波兰出口近300亿美元军品，包括阿帕奇直升机、海马斯火箭炮系统、M1主战坦克等，向德国出口总值115亿美元的奇努克直升机、先进中程空对空导弹等。
In the Asia-Pacific region, the US is peddling weapons to countries surrounding China, vigorously promoting the Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at countering China. In the fiscal year 2023, the US exported USD 5 billion worth of F-35 fighters to the ROK, USD 1.2 billion worth of F100 engine systems and spare parts to Singapore and the ROK respectively, and strengthened military security cooperation with Vietnam, the Philippines, and other countries. In 2023, the US also exported USD 1.8 billion worth of military aviation engine hardware to India and approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones to India.
在亚太地区，美国极力向中国周边国家兜售武器，全力推行针对中国的“印太战略”。2023财年，美国向韩国出口价值50亿美元的F-35战机，向新加坡、韩国分别出口价值12亿美元的F100发动机系统和备件，还与越南、菲律宾等国家加强军事安全合作。2023年，美国向印度出口价值18亿美元的军用航空发动机硬件，并已批准向印度出售31架MQ-9B“天空卫士”无人机。
US overseas arms sales, especially the relaxation of arms trade export control for selfish gains, have led to massive arms proliferation. Taking the US and Western arms sales to Ukraine during the Ukraine crisis as an example, a large amount of weapons aid from the US and the West couldn't be tracked and even fell into the hands of terrorist organizations and extremist forces, and were resold to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. African leaders once said that terrorist groups in the Lake Chad region used smuggled weapons from conflict zones in Ukraine.
美国对外军售，尤其是为了一己私利放宽武器贸易出口管制政策，造成了大规模的武器扩散。以乌克兰危机中美西方对乌军军售为例，大量来自美西方援助的武器无法追踪甚至落入恐怖组织和极端势力之手，并销往中东、非洲和欧洲地区。非洲国家领导人曾表示，乍得湖地区恐怖分子使用了乌克兰冲突地区的走私武器。
What is even more irresponsible is that the US ignores the risk of nuclear proliferation in its arms sales. In October 2021, the US, UK, and Australia announced the establishment of a new trilateral security partnership. The US and the UK will support the Australian Navy in establishing a nuclear submarine force, and Australia will work with the two nuclear powers to build nuclear submarines in Australia. This move sets a bad precedent for nuclear-weapon states to transfer weapons-grade nuclear materials to non-nuclear-weapon states, violates the purpose and principle of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), impacts the Safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency and creates serious nuclear proliferation risks,which has caused widespread international concern and criticism.
更为不负责任的是，美国军售甚至罔顾核扩散风险。2021年10月，美国、英国和澳大利亚宣布建立新的三边安全伙伴关系，美英将支持澳海军建立核潜艇部队，澳方将与美英合作在澳建造核潜艇。此举开启了核武器国家向无核武器国家转让武器级核材料的恶劣先例，违反《不扩散核武器条约》的目的和宗旨，冲击国际原子能机构保障监督体系，造成严重核扩散风险，已经引起了广泛国际关注和批评。
At present, the international security situation is complex and volatile, the confrontation between major powers is intensifying, and regional instability factors are more prominent. The irresponsible and wanton export of various types of weapons by the US has not only intensified the risk of conflicts in hotspot areas, but also triggered a new arms race on a global scale, making the international security situation more fragile and posing unprecedented risks and challenges to human society.
当前，国际安全局势复杂多变，大国对抗日益加剧，区域性不稳定因素更加突出。美国不负责任地肆意出口各类杀器，不但加剧了热点地区和矛盾各方的冲突风险，更在全球范围引发新的军备竞赛，使得国际安全形势更加脆弱，人类社会面临前所未有的风险挑战。
As a true war monger, wherever the US sells weapons, it exacerbates tensions in that region. The ongoing Ukraine crisis, the escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula, and the heating up of situations in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait all have the shadow of US interference and arms sales behind them. US arms exports can easily trigger regional arms races, fuel military conflicts and social turmoil, and seriously threaten international and regional peace and stability.
美国作为名副其实的“战争贩子”，把武器销往哪个地区，便会加剧哪个地区的紧张局势。乌克兰危机延宕至今、朝鲜半岛紧张局势升级、南海台海局势升温，背后都有美国挑动干涉、兜售军火的身影。美国军品出口容易引发地区军备竞赛，助长军事冲突和社会混乱，严重威胁国际和地区和平稳定。
Stability, cooperation and development are the common aspirations of people all over the world. The US should also earnestly abide by the basic norms of international relations, abandon hegemony and Cold War mentality, stop provoking confrontation and stimulating arms races, and do more things that are conducive to global peace and stability.
求稳定、促合作、谋发展是世界各国人民的共同心声。美国也应切实遵守国际关系基本准则，摒弃霸权和冷战思维，停止挑动对抗和刺激军备竞赛，多做有益于全球和平稳定的事。
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article 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.
