By Guo Xiaobing
郭晓兵
American media reported that the US Department of Defense formed a so-called Tiger Team last month to be responsible for examining the efficiency of America's foreign arms sales and streamlining the process of the transactions.
据美国媒体报道，美国防部上个月成立所谓“老虎小组”，负责审查美国对外军售的效率问题，寻求简化对外军售流程。
America's arms export is divided into two types. One is foreign military sales (FMS), which is implemented based on intergovernmental agreements; the other is direct commercial sales (DCS), which is through commercial channels. The limited information revealed by US media shows that the attempt to simplify the process mainly involves the intergovernmental FMS. This type of arms export is subject to the management of the Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers (RSAT) under the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State, which, however, needs to work closely with the DoD's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) in the approval process, and much of the work is carried out by the DoD too. The new Tiger Team will reform the part of the FMS process involving the DoD, and perhaps also relax the screening of the final users of the exported military equipment.
美国军火出口分为两类，一类称作“对外军售”（FMS），是美国通过政府间协议进行的军火出口，另一类称作“直接商业销售”（DCS），是美国通过商业渠道进行的军火出口。根据美媒披露的有限信息，基本可以判定这次试图推动的流程简化改革主要涉及所谓政府间“对外军售”。这类交易由美国务院政军事务局的区域安全与武器转让办公室负责，但它在审批过程中要与美国防部的国防安全合作局密切协调，而且很多具体工作由美国防部负责执行。这次“老虎小组”要改的主要是“对外军售”中涉及美国防部的流程，或许还将放宽对军事装备最终用户的筛查要求。
The US is the world's largest arms exporter. Statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) show that during the five years from 2017 to 2021, America's arms deals accounted for 39% of the global total, twice as large as the second-ranking Russia's. Why then is it so eager to relax the regulations and expand its arms export?
美国是众所周知的全球第一军火出口大国。根据斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所统计，2017年到2021年的五年间，美国占全球主要军火交易的39%，两倍于排名第二的俄罗斯。那么它为什么还要急于放宽军火出口管制，进一步寻求扩大对外军火出口呢？
First, it hopes to get ahead of China and Russia in the arms trade competition. Washington sees arms trade as an important aspect of major-country competition and prides itself on its quality weapons albeit the high price. To vie for the international market against the fair-priced and quality military equipment made by China and Russia, it needs to be more efficient and streamline the process in order to get a head-start on the rivals.
首先，它谋求在大国军贸竞争中压倒中俄。在美国看来，军贸也是大国竞争的重要方面。它自夸美制武器质量优良，但价格昂贵。为与中俄物美价廉的军事装备争夺国际市场，它要提高效率、简化流程以实现“快鱼吃慢鱼”的目的。
Second, it wants to augment the diplomatic and strategic functions of the arms trade to keep the allies in leash and meddle in hotspot regions. The American policy on the transfer of conventional weapons makes it clear that weapon export must serve America's national strategy, diplomatic policy and national defense interests. Modern weaponry is systematic. Once other countries become dependent on American equipment, they will easily be subject to the seller in many other aspects, including intelligence, diplomacy, and operations. At the current stage, one obvious purpose of the US is to interfere more in Ukraine and other conflicting regions through arms export.
其次，美国要借此强化军贸的外交功能和战略功能，以便拉住盟友和插手热点地区。美国的常规武器转让政策明确规定，武器出口要服务于美国的国家战略、外交政策和国防利益。现代武器具有体系化特点，其他国家一旦对美制装备产生依赖，就容易在情报、外交、作战等其他方方面面受制于美国。当前阶段美国一个显而易见的目的，就是借着军火出口加大对乌克兰等冲突地区的干预力度。
Third, the adjustment of arms export policy is also driven by economic and political considerations at home. On the economic front, American military industry is quite competitive in the world, and exporting more weapons suits Biden's wish to reinvigorate American manufacturing. On the internal affairs front, although the Biden administration is not as ardent a mouthpiece for American arms dealers as the previous one, it is still closely intertwined with the military industrial complex. For instance, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a think tank in close ties with the Biden administration, gets a lot of funds from the arms dealers and goes to great lengths to pave the way for relaxing the export of drones.
再者，美国调整军贸出口政策也有国内经济和政治考虑。从经济角度看，美国军工生产在国际上具有较强竞争力，扩大军火出口符合拜登政府振兴美国制造业的主张。从内政角度看，虽然拜登政府不像特朗普政府那样热衷于在国际上为美军火商代言，但它与军工复合体也有千丝万缕的联系。例如与拜登政府关系密切的智库“新美国安全中心”就从军火商那里得到大量赞助，并曾为放宽无人机出口管制造势。
The more convenient arms export on the American part will drive international relations in the direction of military tension and bloc confrontation. On the international stage, the inundation of American weapons will further underscore the military elements in inter-state relations, adding fuel to the existing tension and the signs of the arms race in certain regions. Moreover, while relaxing its arms export regulation toward allies and partners, the US has kept – or rather intensified – the arms sales ban and high-tech export regulation toward the so-called rivals, forcing the more integrated "global village" apart into different blocs and trying to forge a limited global system governed by its own rules. That doesn't spell good news for the world.
美方推动军火出口更加便利，将会加剧国际关系军事化、集团化和对抗化。在国际上，美制武器的泛滥也将使国与国关系中的军事因素更加突出，给一些地区本已紧张的局势以及军备竞赛势头添柴加油。另外，美国在对盟国、伙伴放宽军火出口管制的同时，维持甚至强化对所谓“对手国家”的军售禁令以及高科技出口管制，将本来日益走近的“地球村”硬生生割裂为不同集团，试图重构一套以自己的规则为“帮规”的有限全球化体系。这对世界来说绝非什么福音。
(The author is director of the Center for Arms Control Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations)
(作者是中国现代国际关系研究院军控研究中心主任)
Editor's note: This article is originally published on huanqiu.com, 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.
