By Shi Hanjuan
石汉娟
Australia's destroyer Sydney launches a missile during exercise "RIMPAC-2024".
在“环太平洋-2024”演习中，澳大利亚皇家海军“悉尼”号驱逐舰发射导弹。
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，澳大利亚同美英两国签署一份交换核机密和转让核材料的协议，迈出为澳海军装备核潜艇的关键一步。在此前举行的新一轮美澳防长和外长“2+2”会谈上，双方宣布将深化一系列军事合作，包括升级位于西澳大利亚州和北领地的关键空军基地，增加美国在澳的轮换兵力以及巡逻机、侦察机、轰炸机的部署频次，加强精确打击导弹等弹药生产合作等。
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.
拜登政府上台后，美国不断打造“小多边”联盟网络，以维护美国霸权、威慑战略对手。如建立美英澳三边安全伙伴关系（奥库斯）、加强美日澳三边防务关系、升级美日印澳“四边机制”、巩固“五眼联盟”等，涉及领域涵盖情报交换、战略协调和军事技术合作等。
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.
为了迎合美国，澳大利亚在《2020年国防战略更新》中提出，将印太地区作为未来国防规划的重点方向，主张发挥澳作为印太地区“支点”国家的特殊作用。继2021年澳同美英正式建立“奥库斯”并寻求进口核潜艇后，今年4月，美英澳三国又拉拢日本加入“奥库斯”，将军事技术合作扩展到人工智能、自主系统、高超声速等重要军事技术领域。未来，美澳军事同盟升级步伐或将进一步加快。
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.
澳大利亚一直被美国视为第二岛链的“南锚”要地，与作为“北锚”的日本遥相呼应。澳大利亚不仅允许美驻军使用澳军基地，还开放现有的军事训练场所和军港，确保美驻军训练和先进武器装备的预置。
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.
在美军全新的军事常态化部署计划中，澳北部的达尔文是一个重要的战略枢纽。达尔文地处印度洋与太平洋的连接要道，与关岛和迭戈加西亚共同构成美军在印太地区的新威慑圈。当前，美海军陆战队在达尔文基地轮驻人数已增至2500人，并计划与澳军组建联合训练旅。2022年3月，澳宣布将耗资100亿澳元在东海岸建造新的潜艇基地，用来停靠美英澳合作研制的核潜艇，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，美军还出资实施“航空中队行动中心”计划，在澳廷德尔空军基地为B-52战略轰炸机建造专用作战指挥中心、停机坪和维护中心、弹药库等设施，完成后也可用于部署B-21战略轰炸机等多种战略投送平台。美利用澳北部多个基地频繁轮换部署P-8反潜机、B-52和B-1B轰炸机等，为驻关岛和冲绳的美军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.
不难看出，随着所谓“大国竞争”对手“区域拒止/反介入”能力的提升，美国愈发重视澳大利亚在其全球战略中的地缘价值。澳国内有识之士对此表示担忧，认为美澳军事同盟的不断升级，将使澳在军事上更加依赖美，其外交和安全政策也将受制于美。如果澳不能保持自身的战略自主，继续随美起舞，将面临引火烧身的风险。
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.
近年来，美澳通过“环太平洋”“漆黑”等双多边联演，全面提升两军的“互操作性”，将澳军作战力量设计进以“大国竞争”为背景的高端战争准备中，打造一体化联盟作战体系。
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.
美军F-22A战机和澳大利亚皇家空军F-35A战机、KC-30A多用途加油机在澳廷德尔空军基地内。
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，美澳日菲四国在南海举行首次联合军演，内容包括反潜战训练和海上巡逻等；6月，在“环太平洋-2024”多国海上联演中，澳海军“悉尼”号驱逐舰发射“海军打击导弹”，击沉了作为靶舰的美退役两栖攻击舰“塔拉瓦”号；在八月初举行的“太平洋之龙-2024”演习期间，“悉尼”号驱逐舰试射了一枚美制“标准-6”导弹，表明澳海军已将该型导弹整合到其海军防空武器库中。
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.
在这些演训活动中，澳军积极配合美军，验证敏捷作战部署、分布式杀伤、穿透性制空等新型作战概念，提升新旧装备混合使用、多军种跨域协同等能力。美军则提升了向亚太南部远程投送兵力的能力，实现美军战略力量从“连续驻扎”向“动态兵力运用”转变，增强了兵力部署的灵活性。
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.
种种事实表明，美国正极力联合澳大利亚推高亚太地区的战略竞争态势。随着美澳军事同盟的强化，澳防务政策正在由“被动防御”转为“主动介入”。美澳军事同盟的这种升级态势，将使亚太地区安全形势更趋复杂，从而给地区和平稳定带来严重负面影响。
(The author is from the PLA Air Force Research Institute)
（作者单位：空军研究院）
