US' plot to rock up South China Sea through RIMPAC doomed

美通过“环太军演”搅乱南海图谋难实现

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Li Jiayao
Time
2022-06-09 16:20:04
中国中央电视台报道截图
Snapshot of CCTV report

据美媒报道,美国近日宣布将于6月29日至8月4日举行2022年“环太平洋军事演习”,届时将有26个国家派员参加,演习规模远远超过往年,其中还包括5个南海周边国家参演。美国媒体将此次军演称为“世界最大海军演习”,并与中国挂钩,声称是为了应对“南海的军事紧张局势”。

The US recently announced the plan to hold the Rim of the Pacific 2022 (RIMPAC 2022) from June 29 to August 4, news came from US media. The exercise, on a larger scale than before, will involve participants from 26 countries, including five countries bordering the South China Sea. American media called it the “largest naval exercise”, which they claimed was in response to the military tension in the South China Sea.

军事观察员曹卫东认为,美国试图把更多的域外国家拉到“环太军演”里,是想邀请南海周边国家为其站台,但是这些国家可能并不会如美国所期那样选边站队。

According to military observer Cao Weidong, by inviting more out-of-region countries to participate in the “RIMPAC 2022”, the US hopes for their support on the South China Sea issue. Unfortunately, those countries may not side with it as it wishes.

美国主导的“环太军演”诞生于1971年,当时主要是针对苏联在太平洋海域的活动,加强美国和其军事盟国之间在海上协调作战的能力。苏联解体后,“环太军演”并没有撤销,军演目的就从原来封锁苏联海军转为应对地区争端。

Initiated in 1971, the RIMPAC exercise was originally aimed to reinforce the interoperability between the US and its military allies considering Soviet Union’s activities in the Pacific Ocean. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the exercise was kept but its purpose was reinvented from blockading the Soviet navy to dealing with regional disputes.

曹卫东指出,美国还曾邀请俄罗斯和中国参演,因为当时美国认为反恐是美国军事行动的一个重要目的。但到了2018年,美国回到冷战思维,即进行“大国对抗”,不再邀请俄罗斯和中国参加。演习内容也更具进攻性,不仅仅是海上制空权、制海权的争夺,还包括由海向陆的打击能力。

Cao pointed out that the US used to invite Russia and China to participate because, at that time, counter-terrorism was the chief goal of its military operations. But things have changed in 2018, after the country went back to the Cold-War thinking and adopted the “major country confrontation” principle, it no longer invited Russia and China. Besides, the contents of the exercise were more aggressive, expanding from seizing air supremacy over the sea and sea supremacy to fostering the sea-to-land strike capability.

曹卫东认为,美国作为南海域外国家,是“环太军演”的操盘手,其他国家都是美国的“棋子”。美国会把这些国家分成三六九等,各个国家根据装备的不同来担负不同的角色。

He analyzed that as a country outside the South China Sea region, the US is the mastermind behind the RIMPAC while all the participating countries are its chess pieces that will be divided into various groups and assigned different tasks according to the status of their equipment.

例如,“环太军演”的指挥官通常是由美国人或日本人担任,有时候会把副指挥官的位置交给澳大利亚。这样一来,在作战指挥上,其他国家就被边缘化。而像防空反导这类演习,通常美国只邀请日本和韩国参加,因为日韩拥有美国的“标准”导弹,可以对一些飞行高度高、飞行速度快的目标进行拦截和打击。而其他国家由于没有这类装备,还涉及到情报、信息的共享,所以不能参加这类演习。这些行为导致参演国家之间相互戒备,认为美国对各国角色分配不公。

For example, the RIMPAC exercise commander is usually American or Japanese, sometimes with an Australian deputy commander, thus marginalizing other countries as far as commanding is concerned. For anti-missile air defense subjects, usually only Japan and ROK are invited because they use American-standard missiles that can intercept and attack objects flying at a high altitude and high speed. Other countries, because they have no such equipment nor the clearance to share intelligence and information, are not qualified to participate in such subjects. As a result, the participating countries are on guard against each other, thinking the US has been partial in the assignment of roles.

“实际上,这些国家参加“环太军演”也有各自的心思,它们并不是要在未来加入“大国对抗”,更多的是想通过参加演习,了解其他国家的海军力量,掌握各国的海军装备发展情况。演习对于他们而言,学习、观摩的比重更大一些。”曹卫东指出,南海周边国家普遍和中国保持良好关系,中国也和这些国家在南海问题上也达成了相关协议,维护了南海的和平与稳定。

“In fact, these countries have their own ax to grind in taking part in the exercise. They have no interest in joining the ‘major-country confrontation’ in the future, but just want to take the opportunity to learn more about other countries’ naval strengths and their naval equipment development. The exercise is more of an opportunity to learn and observe for them,” said Cao. He added that countries around the South China Sea are generally on good terms with China and have reached agreements with us on the South China Sea issue. That is conducive to preserving peace and stability in the region.

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

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