By Lei Chenxi and Zhao Xuelin

雷晨曦 赵学林

It is reported that the US, the UK and Australia recently agreed to relax their restrictions on the export of weapons and equipment and exempt some military products from export licensing among themselves. This is believed to mark a substantial step forward in the three countries' cooperation on nuclear submarine and advanced military technologies under the AUKUS framework, drawing close attention from all parties.

据报道，美国、英国和澳大利亚近日就放宽各自武器装备出口管制达成一致，同意相互免除部分军品出口许可审批。此举被视为美英澳三国在“奥库斯”框架下，实质性推动核潜艇及先进军事技术合作的重要一步，引发各方高度关注。

Ever since the three countries formed the AUKUS, London and Canberra have been urging Washington to further relax its restrictions on technology export and information sharing. America's International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) vigorously restricts the transfer and export of technologies and the export of military products to all countries, including its allies. In the beginning, Washington agreed in principle to share relevant technology and information pertaining to nuclear-powered submarines in the AUKUS framework. Yet it has exercised great caution and reservation in the provision of equipment, technology and information concerning hypersonic weapons and underwater combat capabilities, and didn't release news about a new rule until recently. The US Department of State issued a statement on August 15 that as the US believes the UK and Australia have adopted equivalent export restrictions to its own and offered mutual export exemption, the US side will soon launch a new rule to amend the ITAR, whereby it will export military products to the UK and Australia without licensing.

自美英澳三国宣布组建“奥库斯”以来，英国和澳大利亚便一直在推动美国进一步放宽技术出口和信息共享管制措施。美国通过制定《国际武器贸易条例》，对技术转让和出口许可设置限制条件，对包括盟友在内的所有国家实施严格的军品出口限制。尽管在合作之初，美国已原则上同意在“奥库斯”框架下分享潜艇核动力相关技术和信息，但在提供包括高超声速武器、水下作战能力等装备技术和相关信息方面，美国始终持谨慎保留态度，直到近期才正式发布了有关新规则的消息。美国国务院8月15日发表声明称，鉴于美国认定英国和澳大利亚采取了同美国相当的出口管制体系，并为美国提供了互惠出口豁免，美方将很快出台一项新规则，以修改《国际武器贸易条例》，并对英国和澳大利亚免除军品出口许可审批。

The new rule is expected to significantly streamline the process for the US to export military products to the two countries. Records show that the US Department of State used to sign the export license for about 3,800 pieces of military products each year for Australia in accordance with ITAR, with the license taking up to 18 months to obtain. Now the new rule will exempt over 70% of the military products exported to Australia from licensing, and the time needed to get the license for those unexempted products will be largely shortened.

在新规则的推动下，预计未来美国向英国和澳大利亚出口军品的流程将大幅简化。资料显示，美国国务院每年根据《国际武器贸易条例》为澳大利亚签发约3800份军品出口许可证，审批时间最长可达18个月。而根据修订后的新规则，美国出口到澳大利亚的军品中，超过七成将不再需要许可证。即使仍需许可证的军品，其审批流程也将大幅缩短。

At the same time, over 80% of the dual-purpose goods and low-intensity military products under the administration of the US Department of Commerce will be exempt from export licensing for Australia too. All three members of AUKUS view this as a major step towards their cooperation. The US Department of State said the new rule will facilitate military trade worth up to billions of US dollars among the three countries, integrate their innovative capabilities, and consolidate the foundation for their defense industry.

同时，在由美国商务部负责管理的军民两用物品和低烈度军品出口许可方面，八成以上的出口也将对澳大利亚实施许可豁免。美英澳三国都将此举视为推动“奥库斯”合作的重要一步。美国国务院称，新规则将促进“奥库斯”合作伙伴之间数十亿美元的军贸合作，整合三国的创新能力并加强各自的国防工业基础。

What the international community should beware of is that America's relaxation of export restrictions on weapons and equipment not only has opened a gate for the AUKUS members to share advanced weapons and equipment and sensitive technologies, but will also lend a heavy blow to the international nuclear nonproliferation regime.

需要警惕的是，美国放宽武器装备出口限制的这些举措，为“奥库斯”成员国分享先进武器装备及敏感技术打开了方便之门，进而对国际防扩散体系造成更大冲击。

The AUKUS has two pillars – one is the Virginia-class nuclear submarine sold by the US to Australia and the next-generation submarine to be jointly built by the UK and Australia; the other is the three members' coordinated development of advanced technologies and their accelerated application in the military domain.

“奥库斯”由两大支柱组成，第一支柱是先由美国向澳大利亚出售“弗吉尼亚”级核潜艇，并由英澳共同建造下一代核潜艇；第二支柱则是推动三国先进技术协同发展，并加速其军事领域应用。

Previously, the high threshold for sharing cutting-edge technologies set by the US has prevented progress on their cooperation on the second pillar. But now the export exemption will pave the way for their quickened technological collaboration in such areas as AI, hypersonic weapons, and underwater combat. Moreover, as the US will sell at least three Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia starting from the beginning of the 2030s, the new rule will also facilitate the export of relevant carrier-borne weapons and equipment.

此前，由于美国对尖端技术共享设立极高门槛，三国在第二支柱方面的合作进展有限。此次三国武器装备及技术出口豁免，将为“奥库斯”成员国加快包括人工智能、高超声速、水下作战等领域技术合作铺平道路。此外，鉴于美国还将在本世纪30年代初开始向澳大利亚出售至少3艘“弗吉尼亚”级核潜艇，新规则也将为相关艇载武器装备出口提供便利。

Ever since the formation of AUKUS, the US, the UK, and Australia have kept pushing their cooperation on nuclear submarines and other advanced military technologies in the name of preserving security and stability in the Asia Pacific. In fact, their actions have only aggravated the resurgence of the Cold War mentality and gravely damaged regional peace and stability. The Asian Pacific region is a land of peaceful development, not a chessboard for geopolitical games. The three countries must abandon their Cold War mentality, stop bloc confrontation as soon as possible and do something truly conducive to peace and stability in the region and beyond.

自“奥库斯”联盟宣布成立以来，美英澳三国打着维护亚太安全稳定的幌子，不断推进核潜艇及其他先进军事技术合作，加剧冷战思维回潮，严重危害地区和平稳定。亚太地区应是和平发展的沃土，而不是地缘政治的棋局，三国理应早日摒弃冷战思维、停止阵营对抗，切实维护地区及国际和平与稳定。

(The author is from CNNC Strategic Planning Research Institute)

（作者单位：中核战略规划研究总院）