By Li Jingze
李京泽
On August 5, China Coast Guard lawfully evicted Philippine vessels illegally intruding into waters near the Ren'ai Jiao of China's Nansha Qundao. In response to this incident between China and the Philippines, the US Department of State (DOS) issued a statement attacking China's legitimate-and-lawful maritime rights protection and law enforcement actions, while defending the other party's illegal provocative behavior. This is another example of the US meddling in regional affairs and hyping up the South China Sea issue on the international stage.
8月5日，中国海警依法驱离非法闯入中国南沙群岛仁爱礁邻近海域的菲律宾船只。针对这起发生在中菲之间的事件，美国国务院却发表声明攻击中方正当合法的海上维权执法行动，为菲方非法挑衅行为站台。这是美国插手地区事务，在国际舞台上炒作南海问题的又一例证。
Diao Daming, a researcher at the National Academy of Development and Strategy and the deputy director of the Center for American Studies, Renmin University of China (RUC), pointed out that the series of the US moves show that the country is ostensibly concerned about the South China Sea issue, but actually takes it as a pivot to promote its Indo-Pacific Strategy.
中国人民大学国家发展与战略研究院研究员、美国研究中心副主任刁大明指出，美方一系列举动表明，美国表面上“关切”南海问题，实则将其作为抓手，推进其“印太战略”。
The announcement of the new version of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy document in February 2022 immediately drew significant attention from the international community. Some foreign media remarked that this document stresses alliance, military deterrence and a stronger presence in Southeast Asia of the country in a bid to counter China.
2022年2月新版《美国印太战略》文件一经公布便受到国际社会高度关注。有外媒称，美国的这份战略文件侧重联盟关系、军事威慑以及在东南亚地区加强存在，以对抗中国。
In the view of Diao, this strategy fully exposes the US obsession with hegemony. In recent years, the Asia-Pacific region has witnessed sustained economic development and innovation upheaval, evolving into a veritable global economic growth engine. As a responsible major country in this region, China has long adhered to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and worked with other countries in the region to promote overall development and prosperity.
在刁大明看来，这一战略充分暴露了美国的霸权执念。近年来，亚太地区经济持续发展、创新能力不断提升，成为名副其实的世界经济增长引擎。作为亚太地区负责任的大国，中国长期秉持共商共建共享的原则，与地区国家共同推动整体发展与繁荣。
"The US continually strengthens its presence in the Asia-Pacific in order to maintain its hegemonic position in the world. Its Indo-Pacific Strategy bloats the so-called China's threat, exhausting all means to woo its allies to exclude and suppress China," Diao said.
“美国为了维护自己在世界上的霸权地位，需要不断加强在亚太地区的存在。‘印太战略’就在极力渲染所谓‘中国威胁’，穷尽拉拢盟友排挤打压中国等多种手段。”刁大明说。
Under the framework of the so-called Indo-Pacific Strategy, the US has devised a multitude of stratagems to escalate issues and undermine regional stability. Diao mentioned that to extend its presence in the Asia-Pacific, the country also endeavors to make trouble to find excuses for its intervention.
在美所谓“印太战略”框架下，美国升级问题等级、破坏地区稳定的伎俩还有很多。刁大明表示，美国要加强在亚太地区的存在，还需要制造事端，为自己的介入找到借口。
It is worth noting that since the release of its new version of the Indo-Pacific Strategy document, the US has continuously upgraded the relevant strategy by pulling in more allies and partners, attempting to build institutional systems, expanding the scope of agendas, revamping the narrative discourse and creating bloc confrontation.
值得注意的是，新版《美国印太战略》文件发布以来，美国不断升级“印太战略”，拉入更多盟友和伙伴，妄图搭建制度体系，扩展议题领域，翻新叙事话语，制造阵营对抗。
Driven by the US, the quadrilateral security dialogue (QUAD) between the US, Japan, India and Australia has been comprehensively upgraded, the US-UK-Australia trilateral security partnership has been reinforced, and the US-Japan-ROK and US-Japan-Australia trilateral cooperations have also been deepened. Diao indicated that the US is currently creating bloc confrontation and a Cold War atmosphere in the Asia-Pacific through these mechanisms and platforms, which undermines the regional security order and endangers the strategic security of other countries.
在美国的推动下，美日印澳四边机制全面升级，美英澳三边安全伙伴关系加紧充实，美日韩、美日澳等三边协作也在加深。刁大明指出，美方正通过这些机制平台在亚太地区制造阵营对抗和冷战气氛，这破坏了地区安全秩序，也损害了别国战略安全。
The US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation is a typical case. "The nuclear submarine cooperation between Australia and the US is arousing great insecurity to Southeast Asian countries, and the public should pay close attention to its potential synergistic effect of stimulating regional arms race," Diao commented.
美英澳核潜艇合作就是一个典型例子。“澳大利亚与美国的核潜艇合作正在给东南亚国家带来极大的不安全感，会否刺激区域军备联动效应，值得密切关注。”刁大明说。
It has been noticed that the US Indo-Pacific Strategy is not only limited to geopolitical and military security, but extends to economy, science and technology and many other fields. For example, the proposed "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" is claimed to be inclusive and flexible, but serves for the trade protectionism of the US in practice, which runs counter to the concerns of relevant countries on enhancing economic cooperation and achieving post-epidemic recovery.
外界注意到，美“印太战略”并不局限于地缘政治安全、军事安全，触角正在蔓延到经济、科技等多个领域。例如，其提出“印太经济框架”，并声称其具有包容性和灵活性，但在实际操作中服务于美国的贸易保护主义，与相关国家希望提升经济合作、实现疫后复苏的关切南辕北辙。
Diao believes that the approaches of the US not only disregard the legitimate demands of Asia-Pacific countries, but also disturb the normal development rhythm of the region and disrupt and tear apart regional cooperation agendas. As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, the so-called US Indo-Pacific Strategy will only "bring division and turbulence to the Asia-Pacific".
刁大明认为，美国的做法不仅无视亚太各国的正当诉求，而且干扰地区正常发展节奏，搅乱和撕裂地区合作议程。美所谓“印太战略”的结果正如中国外交部发言人汪文斌所说，“只会给亚太地区带来分裂和动荡。”
Editor's note: Originally published on chinanews.com, 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.
