By Yang Zhen
杨震
The multinational joint exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 hosted by the US Pacific Fleet, allegedly the largest joint exercise in the world, will last from June 27 to August 1 around the Hawaiian Islands and at Pearl Harbor. According to information on the website of the US Naval Institute, 29 countries, 40 surface vessels and 3 submarines 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel participated in the exercise.
由美国太平洋舰队主办的，号称“全球规模最大”的“环太平洋2024”多国海上演习，6月27日至8月1日在夏威夷群岛周边和珍珠港举行。据美国海军学会网站介绍，“来自29个国家的40艘水面舰艇、3艘潜艇、14国的陆军部队、150多架飞机和2.5万名官兵参加本次演习。
The US, the largest maritime hegemony in human history, has always made obtaining and maintaining maritime dominance as its strategic goal. However, the Red Sea crisis told the world that its navy wasn't as superior as imagined. As the navy is an irreplaceable strategic force in the "major country competition" pursued and hyped by the US, the RIMPAC exercise this year holds special significance.
美国作为人类历史上最大的海洋霸权国家，历来将夺取和保持海上优势作为其战略目标。但红海危机的爆发表明，美国海军的优势并非世人想象的那样明显。而在美国炒作的“大国竞争”概念中，海军是不可替代的战略工具。因此，今年的环太军演有着非同寻常的意义。
First of all, this year's RIMPAC is clearly targeted at China. "To give China a warning, the US and its allies need to carry out multiple sinking exercises in the region to demonstrate Washington's capability to sink large numbers of Chinese ships in the early stage of a conflict," said an expert from an American think tank, who asked for anonymity. News from the US Navy showed that one of the highlights of RIMPAC 2024 is the live-fire sinking of the retired Amphibious Assault Ship USS Tarawa with a displacement of 40,000 tons, which the US military said was aimed to demonstrate the joint forces' ability to easily destroy the PLA's landing troops and disrupt the Chinese mainland's reunification operations by force. Considering foreign media reports that China's Type 075 amphibious assault ship has a displacement of over 40,000 tons, relevant countries didn't bother to conceal the fact that RIMPAC 2024 is highly targeted at China, which has surprised many.
首先，此次环太军演针对中国的意图特别明显。一位匿名的美国智库专家说：“为了向中国发出警告，美国及其盟友需要在一个大区域内进行多次击沉演练，展示美国在冲突初期能够击沉大量中国舰船的能力。”而根据美国海军发布的消息，此次环太军演的重头戏之一恰恰是使用实弹击沉排水量达4万吨的退役“塔拉瓦”号两栖攻击舰。美军方更进一步表示，此举旨在展示美军联合部队能够“轻松摧毁解放军的登陆部队，防范大陆的武力统一行动”。而据外电报道，中国的075型两栖攻击舰排水量正好是4万多吨。其针对性之强和不加掩饰，令人吃惊。
Second, the exercise comprises a full range of subjects. A major function of the military exercise is to verify military theories and examine how well the troops and their equipment perform together. The latest exercise comprised all the combat forms of the navy, such as anti-ship, air defense, sea-to-shore assault, amphibious landing, anti-submarine, and anti-mine subjects, plus special operations and humanitarian assistance – rarely comprehensive.
其次是科目演练较全。从军事角度来说，军事演习的一大功能就是对军事学说进行检验，并考核部队和装备的磨合程度。海军的作战样式无非就是反舰、防空、对岸突击、两栖登陆、反潜、反水雷战等方面，这次演习基本上都囊括了，还组织了特种作战和人道主义救援等项目的演练，科目之全较为罕见。
At last, the exercise conveys strong geopolitical intentions. As a hegemonic power in the international system, the US, a North American country, has been consistently trying to dominate the affairs on the Eurasian continent. The Trump administration determined the approach to achieving this strategic goal – by instigating major-country competition. This idea was picked up and developed by the Biden administration, which resulted in the Ukraine crisis. Yet two years through the crisis, Washington, to its surprise, found that the situation hadn't proceeded as it had expected. Ukraine has become increasingly passive in the war with Russia despite the huge amounts of assistance from NATO, and it is exhausting NATO's resources at an appalling speed.
最后是地缘政治意图强烈。作为国际体系中的霸权国家，美国这个北美洲国家始终将主导欧亚大陆事务作为其追求的最终目标。在特朗普时代，追求该目标的途径开始确定，那就是挑起大国竞争。在拜登时代，该理念得到了继承和发展，乌克兰危机就是这种理念的产物。然而，在冲突发生两年多后，美国发现局势并没有像自己预料的那样发展。尽管北约提供了大量援助，乌克兰还是显得力不从心，在战场上日益处于被动的同时，还以令人惊讶的速度耗费北约的资源。
Seeing this, the US has to make emergency adjustments in its geopolitical deployments, which explains why the RIMPAC 2024 conveys such strong geopolitical intentions, as proven by such exercise subjects as air strikes, anti-submarine warfare, special operations, amphibious assault, and massive confrontations on the sea. The strategic importance of the Navy is showcased to the full during this joint exercise, giving a glimpse into the strength of the 100-year-old US Navy.
为此，美国不得不紧急在地缘领域进行调整。此次海上军事演习的地缘政治意图因此显得前所未有的强烈。演练课目中的航空打击、反潜战、特种作战、两栖攻击、海上大规模对抗更是证明了这一点。海军这个军种的战略性也在此次联合军演中得到淋漓尽致的体现。美国百年海军的底蕴由此可见一斑。
The RIMPAC 2024 exercise is still going on. The Pacific Ocean, the largest in the world, may very well lose its peace because of it and similar exercises in the future, posing a dilemma to all people living in countries around the ocean.
“环太平洋2024”演习迄今尚未结束。这片以“太平”命名的世界最大洋，很可能因为类似演习而日益变得“不太平”。这是环太平洋国家人民所面临的共同难题。
(The author is deputy director of the Northeast Asia Research Center, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.)
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.
