By Shi Hanjuan
石漢娟
Australia's destroyer Sydney launches a missile during exercise "RIMPAC-2024".
在“環(huán)太平洋-2024”演習(xí)中，澳大利亞皇家海軍“悉尼”號驅(qū)逐艦發(fā)射導(dǎo)彈。
Australia has recently signed an agreement to allow the exchange of nuclear secrets and materials with the US and the UK, a key step toward equipping its navy with nuclear-powered submarines. During the latest "2+2" meeting between American and Australian defense and foreign ministers, both sides vowed to deepen their military cooperation, including upgrading the key air force bases in Western Australia and Northern Territory, increasing America's rotational troops in Australia and the deployment frequency of patrol planes, reconnaissance planes, and bombers, and strengthening cooperation in the production of ammunitions such as precise attack missiles.
日前，澳大利亞同美英兩國簽署一份交換核機密和轉(zhuǎn)讓核材料的協(xié)議，邁出為澳海軍裝備核潛艇的關(guān)鍵一步。在此前舉行的新一輪美澳防長和外長“2+2”會談上，雙方宣布將深化一系列軍事合作，包括升級位于西澳大利亞州和北領(lǐng)地的關(guān)鍵空軍基地，增加美國在澳的輪換兵力以及巡邏機、偵察機、轟炸機的部署頻次，加強精確打擊導(dǎo)彈等彈藥生產(chǎn)合作等。
After the Biden administration came into office, the US has been creating a network of "minilateral" alliances to maintain its hegemony and deter strategic rivals. It has formed the trilateral security partnership with the UK and Australia (AUKUS), intensified the trilateral defense relationship with Japan and Australia, upgraded the quadrilateral mechanism with Japan, India and Australia, and consolidated the Five Eyes alliance, covering a broad scope ranging from intelligence exchange, strategic coordination, and military technology cooperation.
拜登政府上臺后，美國不斷打造“小多邊”聯(lián)盟網(wǎng)絡(luò)，以維護美國霸權(quán)、威懾戰(zhàn)略對手。如建立美英澳三邊安全伙伴關(guān)系（奧庫斯）、加強美日澳三邊防務(wù)關(guān)系、升級美日印澳“四邊機制”、鞏固“五眼聯(lián)盟”等，涉及領(lǐng)域涵蓋情報交換、戰(zhàn)略協(xié)調(diào)和軍事技術(shù)合作等。
To cater to the US, Australia said in its "2020 Defence Strategic Update" that it will make the Indo-Pacific a key direction in its future defense plan and fully play its special pivotal role in the region. After Australia formed the AUKUS with the US and the UK in 2021 to import nuclear submarines, the three countries brought in Japan in April this year and expanded their military technology cooperation to key domains such as AI, autonomous systems, and hypersonic weapons. Canberra and Washington are likely to further quicken the elevation of their military alliance in the future.
為了迎合美國，澳大利亞在《2020年國防戰(zhàn)略更新》中提出，將印太地區(qū)作為未來國防規(guī)劃的重點方向，主張發(fā)揮澳作為印太地區(qū)“支點”國家的特殊作用。繼2021年澳同美英正式建立“奧庫斯”并尋求進口核潛艇后，今年4月，美英澳三國又拉攏日本加入“奧庫斯”，將軍事技術(shù)合作擴展到人工智能、自主系統(tǒng)、高超聲速等重要軍事技術(shù)領(lǐng)域。未來，美澳軍事同盟升級步伐或?qū)⑦M一步加快。
The US always sees Australia as the "southern anchor" on the second island chain, corresponding to Japan, the "northern anchor". Canberra not only allows American troops to use its military bases but also opens up the existing military training ranges and ports to ensure American troops' training and deploy their advanced weapons and equipment.
澳大利亞一直被美國視為第二島鏈的“南錨”要地，與作為“北錨”的日本遙相呼應(yīng)。澳大利亞不僅允許美駐軍使用澳軍基地，還開放現(xiàn)有的軍事訓(xùn)練場所和軍港，確保美駐軍訓(xùn)練和先進武器裝備的預(yù)置。
In America's new plan for routine military deployment, Darwin in northern Australia is an important strategic hub as the city, situated in a position connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, forms a new Indo-Pacific circle of deterrence with Guam and Diego Garcia. Right now, the US Marines Corps stations up to 2,500 troops at the Darwin base and plans to form a joint training brigade with the Australian military. In March 2022, Canberra announced its decision to spend 10 billion Australian dollars building a new submarine base on its east coast to berth the nuclear submarine developed in cooperation with the US and the UK and support its regular deployment.
在美軍全新的軍事常態(tài)化部署計劃中，澳北部的達爾文是一個重要的戰(zhàn)略樞紐。達爾文地處印度洋與太平洋的連接要道，與關(guān)島和迭戈加西亞共同構(gòu)成美軍在印太地區(qū)的新威懾圈。當前，美海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊在達爾文基地輪駐人數(shù)已增至2500人，并計劃與澳軍組建聯(lián)合訓(xùn)練旅。2022年3月，澳宣布將耗資100億澳元在東海岸建造新的潛艇基地，用來停靠美英澳合作研制的核潛艇，并保障其定期部署。
Moreover, the US military has sponsored the Air Force "Squadron Operations Facility", under which facilities such as specialized combat command center, tarmac, maintenance center, and arsenalwill be built for B-52 strategic bombers at Australia's RAAF Base Tindal. They will also be able to deploy B-21 strategic bombers and other strategic delivery platforms when completed. The US is constantly rotating the P-8 anti-submarine aircraft and B-52 and B-1B bombers at several bases in northern Australia, providing more deployment options for American troops stationed in Guam and Okinawa.
此外，美軍還出資實施“航空中隊行動中心”計劃，在澳廷德爾空軍基地為B-52戰(zhàn)略轟炸機建造專用作戰(zhàn)指揮中心、停機坪和維護中心、彈藥庫等設(shè)施，完成后也可用于部署B(yǎng)-21戰(zhàn)略轟炸機等多種戰(zhàn)略投送平臺。美利用澳北部多個基地頻繁輪換部署P-8反潛機、B-52和B-1B轟炸機等，為駐關(guān)島和沖繩的美軍提供了分散部署方案。
Clearly,the US is placing more stress on Australia's geopolitical value in its global strategy as what it regards as its rivals in the so-called "major country competition" are gaining more "Area Denial/Anti-Access" capabilities. Some Australian critics expressed their worry that the constantly elevated military alliance will make Australia more reliant on the US on the military front and subject its diplomatic and security policies to its influence too. If Canberra cannot maintain its strategic independence and continues to dance to America's tune, it will eventually draw fire to itself.
不難看出，隨著所謂“大國競爭”對手“區(qū)域拒止/反介入”能力的提升，美國愈發(fā)重視澳大利亞在其全球戰(zhàn)略中的地緣價值。澳國內(nèi)有識之士對此表示擔憂，認為美澳軍事同盟的不斷升級，將使澳在軍事上更加依賴美，其外交和安全政策也將受制于美。如果澳不能保持自身的戰(zhàn)略自主，繼續(xù)隨美起舞，將面臨引火燒身的風(fēng)險。
In recent years, the US and Australia have comprehensively enhanced their interoperability through bilateral and multilateral joint exercises such as the RIMPAC and Pitch Black, and Australia's operational forces are designed as part of the preparations for high-end warfare set against the background of "major-country competition" to foster an integrated combat system.
近年來，美澳通過“環(huán)太平洋”“漆黑”等雙多邊聯(lián)演，全面提升兩軍的“互操作性”，將澳軍作戰(zhàn)力量設(shè)計進以“大國競爭”為背景的高端戰(zhàn)爭準備中，打造一體化聯(lián)盟作戰(zhàn)體系。
US military's F-22A fighters and RAAF's F-35A fighters and KC-30A multi-role tankers perform elephant walk at Tindal Air Force Base, Australia.
美軍F-22A戰(zhàn)機和澳大利亞皇家空軍F-35A戰(zhàn)機、KC-30A多用途加油機在澳廷德爾空軍基地內(nèi)。
In April this year, the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines had their first joint military exercise in the South China Sea, including anti-submarine training and maritime patrol. During the "RIMPAC-2024" multinational exercise in June, the Australian Navy's destroyer Sydney launched naval strike missiles (NSM) to sink the retired amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa. During the Pacific Dragon 2024 exercise held in early August, destroyer Sydney test-fired a US-made Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), indicating that the Australian Navy had already made the missile an integral part of its naval air defense arsenal.
今年4月，美澳日菲四國在南海舉行首次聯(lián)合軍演，內(nèi)容包括反潛戰(zhàn)訓(xùn)練和海上巡邏等；6月，在“環(huán)太平洋-2024”多國海上聯(lián)演中，澳海軍“悉尼”號驅(qū)逐艦發(fā)射“海軍打擊導(dǎo)彈”，擊沉了作為靶艦的美退役兩棲攻擊艦“塔拉瓦”號；在八月初舉行的“太平洋之龍-2024”演習(xí)期間，“悉尼”號驅(qū)逐艦試射了一枚美制“標準-6”導(dǎo)彈，表明澳海軍已將該型導(dǎo)彈整合到其海軍防空武器庫中。
In all these exercises and training, Australia has been highly cooperative to the US in verifying new operational concepts such as agile combat employment, distributed lethality, and penetrating counterair, enhancing the capabilities of mixed use of old and new equipment and cross-service, cross-domain collaboration. The US military, on the other hand, has improved its ability of long-distance troops delivery to the south of Asia Pacific, achieving greater flexibility in deployment with the shift from "continuous stationing" to "dynamic deployment" of its strategic forces.
在這些演訓(xùn)活動中，澳軍積極配合美軍，驗證敏捷作戰(zhàn)部署、分布式殺傷、穿透性制空等新型作戰(zhàn)概念，提升新舊裝備混合使用、多軍種跨域協(xié)同等能力。美軍則提升了向亞太南部遠程投送兵力的能力，實現(xiàn)美軍戰(zhàn)略力量從“連續(xù)駐扎”向“動態(tài)兵力運用”轉(zhuǎn)變，增強了兵力部署的靈活性。
Facts have shown that the US is working hard to bring Australia onboard to escalate the strategic competition in the Asia Pacific. With their intensified military alliance, Australia is shifting its defense policy from "passive defense" to "active interference", while the closer military bond is sure to further complicate the region's security situation and jeopardize its peace and stability.
種種事實表明，美國正極力聯(lián)合澳大利亞推高亞太地區(qū)的戰(zhàn)略競爭態(tài)勢。隨著美澳軍事同盟的強化，澳防務(wù)政策正在由“被動防御”轉(zhuǎn)為“主動介入”。美澳軍事同盟的這種升級態(tài)勢，將使亞太地區(qū)安全形勢更趨復(fù)雜，從而給地區(qū)和平穩(wěn)定帶來嚴重負面影響。
(The author is from the PLA Air Force Research Institute)
（作者單位：空軍研究院）
