Reasons for US military to spawn biolabs overseas

美军缘何在海外广布生物实验室?

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Huang Panyue
Time
2022-10-08 17:30:51

郭晓兵

By Guo Xiaobing

日前,俄罗斯联邦委员会副主席科萨乔夫表示,有证据表明,美国在乌克兰的生物实验室具有军事目的。其实,这并不是什么秘密。

Deputy Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council Kosachev recently said that evidence has been found proving the military purposes of America’s biolabs in Ukraine. That’s actually no secret.

根据美国2021年11月向《禁止生物武器公约》缔约国大会提交的报告,仅美国国防部牵头的“减少生物威胁倡议”就在非洲、东欧、中亚、南亚、东南亚、中东“支持”了336个生物实验室。美国国防部还在海外直接经营着若干生物安全实验室。所以,全球各地与美军关系密切的生物实验室实际数目相当惊人。那么,美国的实际用心是什么呢?

According to the report submitted by the US to the Meeting of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in November 2021, the Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) alone has supported 336 biolabs in Africa, East Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, along with a number of overseas biosecurity labs directly operated by the DoD. What’s the US up to with such a massive amount of biolabs?

一是及时发现突发传染性疾病和生物恐怖袭击的征兆,确保国土安全。美国要把生物安全感知的触角伸到海外,及早发现和防范风险。二是确保美军的海外行动不会受到传染性疾病或生物攻击的干扰,即使遭遇疫情仍能有效行动。三是搜集各类可能用于生物战的病毒、细菌,抢占潜在生物战能力的新前沿。此外,还有报道说,美军海外生物实验室与生物制药公司合作,将海外搜集得来的病毒、细菌用于商业盈利目的。

First, it wants to timely discover abrupt contagious diseases and signs of terrorist bio-attacks to ensure homeland security. That’s why it has extended its antenna for biosecurity beyond its borders to discover and prevent risks as early as possible. Second, it wants to make sure the US military’s overseas operations won’t be obstructed by contagious diseases or bio-attacks, and the troops could be able to act effectively even in face of a pandemic. Third, it wants to collect various kinds of viruses and bacteria that might be used in bio-warfare and occupy a spot at the forefront of this potential new battlefield. It is also reported that the overseas biolabs associated with the US military are working with biopharmaceutical companies, and the viruses and bacteria collected overseas are used for commercial profits.

回顾历史,不难发现,美军在全球的生物实验室直接服务于争霸战略,随着军事、政治势力的拓展而相应设点布局。二战时期,美军为保障对日、对德作战,曾分别在太平洋战区的关岛和北非战区的埃及设立海军第二、第三医学研究所。冷战期间,沃尔特•里德陆军研究所在东南亚设立“东南亚条约组织”医学实验室。而该组织存在的主要目的就是遏制中国。

A review of history would show that the US military has set up biolabs across the world to directly serve the national strategy for hegemony, and has deployed them according to the expansion of America’s military and political clout. During WWII, it set up the No.2 and No.3 medical research institutes of the navy in Guam of the Pacific Theater and Egypt of the North African Theater. During the Cold War, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) set up the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) Medical Research Laboratory in Southeast Asia for the main purpose of containing China.

冷战后,美军的海外生物实验室布局聚焦热点地区。在东北亚,美国在韩国釜山实施“朱庇特”计划,进行炭疽和肉毒杆菌试验。在欧亚地区,美军设立“合作生物接触项目”,在哈萨克斯坦、乌克兰、阿塞拜疆和格鲁吉亚建设生物实验室。

After the Cold War, overseas biolabs are mostly located in hotspot regions. In Northeast Asia, America carried out the Jupiter program in Busan, ROK for anthrax and botox tests; in Eurasia, the US military had a “cooperative bio-contact program”, under which biolabs are built in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

近年来,随着美军备战重点从反恐转向应对大国竞争,其海外生物实验室的布局和任务也有所调整。美军从中东收缩,将原来位于埃及的海军第三医学研究所从埃及迁往意大利。美军海外生物实验室还按照美国参谋长联席会议的要求,增加生物监测网络的灵活性、敏捷性和模块化程度,为持久战和危机冲突提供保障。美国的一系列活动引起相关国家警惕。早在俄乌冲突爆发之前,俄罗斯就指责美国蓄意搜集俄罗斯民众的基因样本,目的可疑。

In recent years, the US military has adjusted the layout and tasks of its overseas biolabs as the focus of its combat-readiness efforts is moved from counterterrorism to major-country competition. It moved the No.3 naval medical research institute from Egypt to Italy with its contracting forces in the Middle East. As per the request of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff meetings, the overseas biolabs have also made the bio-monitoring network more flexible, agile and modular to better support the country in prolonged battles, crises, and conflicts. The series of activities by the US have put relevant countries on high alert. Even before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, Moscow accused Washington of deliberately collecting the DNA samples of Russian people for suspicious purposes.

美军自称其海外生物实验室搜集各种病原体是为生物防御之用,并不是要研制生物武器。但愿如此,但正如军控界一句老话所说,“信任但要核查”(trust but verify)。令人遗憾的是,美国在这个问题上不愿意展示其一向标榜的“透明度”,而是独家阻止达成《禁止生物武器公约》核查议定书,同时抱怨遭别国抹黑、妖魔化。

The US military claimed that its overseas biolabs collected the various pathogens for bio-defense purposes rather than to develop bio-weapons. We would like to believe that, but as is said in the arms control circle, we “trust but verify”. Unfortunately, the US refuses to demonstrate its self-claimed “transparency” on this issue but has unilaterally obstructed the adoption of the BWC verification protocol while complaining about smearing and demonization by other countries.

生物军控有其特殊性,生物战剂两用性突出,易于隐藏,攻防难分。但是核查议定书提出的申报、访问、质疑、核查等措施是可行的,也得到多数国家的支持。

Biological arms control is special in that the biological agents can serve dual purposes, are easy to hide, and cannot always draw a clear line between attack and defense. To address this, the verification protocol has proposed a series of feasible measures including application, visit, questioning and verification, which have been endorsed by most countries.

新冠肺炎疫情清楚地表明,病毒会给人类的发展和安全带来巨大冲击。如果它被用作生物武器,或者有国家或非国家行为体对病毒或细菌加以改造,使之成为更具针对性和杀伤力的生物武器,后果不堪设想。在历史上,二战期间和冷战期间曾经出现过两次生物军备竞赛。如果不能建立有效核查机制,不排除出现第三次生物军备竞赛的风险。美国应该和国际社会一道,为建设有效的多边生物军控核查机制而共同努力。

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown clearly that viruses can lend a heavy blow to human development and security. If they are used in bioweapons, or they or bacteria are modified by certain state or non-state actors into more targeted and destructive weapons, the consequences would be unimaginable. There were two biological arms races in human history – during the WWII and during the Cold War, and the risk of a third one cannot be excluded if an effective verification mechanism cannot be put in place. The US should act in unison with the international community to establish an effective multilateral biological arms control verification mechanism.

(作者是中国现代国际关系研究院军控研究中心主任)

(The author is the Director of the Center for Arms Control Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations)

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.

 

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