Joint Military Exercises: The World Knows America’s True Intentions

Published in Huanqiu
(China) on 13 February 2012
by Wang Jiabo (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Brian Tawney. Edited by Steven Stenzler.
A cannonade of military exercises now disturbs the tranquility of the Asia-Pacific region. It is the U.S. and its allies that are leading these military maneuvers. On February 6 the curtains fell on the seven day long US-Japanese “Yama Sakura 61” joint military exercises, and it has been announced that the largest multinational war exercise in Asia-Pacific history, “Cobra Gold”, will follow. The nations taking part in these exercises will not only include America, Japan and South Korea, but also Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. Furthermore, it is said that the US and South Korea will hold joint exercises in late February code-named “Crucial Resolve” and “Bald Eagle,” in order to “respond to the situation in the peninsula in the post-Kim Jong-il era.”

What is America up to, with this sabre-rattling? Of course the whole world knows their real intentions. America wants to put on a big military production for the populations of countries like Japan and South Korea, to let them see the “power and grandeur” of the American armed forces and feel the “shock and awe” of the military exercises, making the peoples of Japan, South Korea and other countries believe that only the American soldier can protect their heroes if a time of war draws near. This is the effect that the White House hopes for. The joint military exercises are just a political drama, full of the violent colors of psychological warfare, they are a fashion show for the U.S. military, but at the same time they are a quintessential element of U.S. global strategy since the Cold War era.

These military exercises are a tool for maintaining pressure—Americans naturally wouldn’t come out and say it this way, but the true intent is definitely to use war games to exert pressure. When the Japanese media reports on the “Yama Sakura 61” exercises, they say that the reason for holding joint Japanese-American military drills is in order to face new challenges in the East Asian situation, and to strengthen the U.S.-Japanese alliance. On the contrary, Japan really appears to want to follow tightly behind America’s buttocks, completely failing to reflect on what, in the end, is meant by “new challenges” in the stability of the region and their relations with China. As far as Washington is concerned, established policies advance according to the status quo—the joint exercises are to help their allies model enemies, to make the allies experience a tense regional situation, and thereby demonstrate the “irreplaceable value” of the United States. They can only demonstrate the value of their presence in Asia by using military exercises to poke holes; they can only draw in their Asian allies by relying on tense regional situations; they can only defend their influence with a club in hand.

These military exercises conform to America’s longest-term strategic goal. From the perspective of the White House, who can really block America from declaring world hegemony? There are at least two countries with the courage and strength to do this. One of them is Russia, and the other is China. In the areas surrounding China and Russia, the US needs a strategically valuable situation, and an atmosphere of tension that can stir up trouble. Having this kind of situation and atmosphere, they can then preserve their military presence and central position in the regions around China and Russia, and they can maintain and strengthen their boundaries and constraints on China and Russia. To the White House, the Cold War mentality is a kind of precious possession that still cannot be given up. What is really reflected in America’s frequent joint military exercises around Russia and China is that America continues to carry its Cold War strategies into the present day. Washington wants to use these military exercises to create a tense situation, in order to preserve and even strengthen its leading position in the Asia-Pacific region, and thus to realize its wild schemes of declaring world hegemony.


汪嘉波:联合军演,美国的司马昭之心世人皆知


  炮声隆隆的联合军事演习正在打破亚太地区的安宁。实施军演的主角是美国及其盟军。2月6日,持续7天的美日“山樱61”联合军事演习刚刚落下帷幕,号称亚太地区迄今为止最大规模的“金色眼镜蛇”多国军演随即宣告启动。参加军演的不仅有美日韩,而且还有马来西亚、印度尼西亚、泰国和新加坡。据说,美韩还将在2月下旬举行代号为“关键决断”和“秃鹫”的联合军演,以“应对后金正日时代的半岛局势”。


  磨刀霍霍,美国安的是什么心?当然是世人皆知的司马昭之心。美国就是要在日韩等国民众面前上演军事大片,就是要让他们在电视里看到美军的“威武雄壮”和军演的“惊心动魄”,让日韩等国家的民众认为,当战争来临时,只有美国大兵才是可以保护他们的英雄。这就是白宫想要的效果。联合军演不过是政治表演,是充满暴力色彩的攻心战,是美军的走秀,同时更是美国从冷战时代构建起来的全球战略的“精华部分”。



  军演是保持压力的工具——美国人当然不会这样实话实说,可利用军演施压的确是它的真实意图。日本媒体在报道“山樱61”军演时称,举行日美联合军演是为了“面对东亚局势的新挑战,进一步巩固日美同盟关系”。看来日本倒是真容易紧跟在美国的屁股后面,完全不思考在地区局势安稳、中日关系稳定的情况下,所谓的“新挑战”到底包含什么内容。而对华盛顿而言,“既定方针”正在按部就班地进行——联合军演就是为了帮助盟国塑造敌人,就是要让盟国时刻感受到“地区局势的紧张气氛”,从而显示出美国“不可替代的重要性”。只能以军演为突破口来展示自己在亚洲的价值;只能靠地区紧张状态来拉拢其亚太盟国;只能利用手中的棍棒来维护自己的影响力。


  军演服从美国更长远的战略目标。在白宫看来,谁能真正阻挡美国称霸全球?至少有两个国家敢于并有能力这样做。一个国家是俄罗斯,另一个国家是中国。在中俄周边地区版图上,美国需要一种具有战略价值的对抗局面,一种可以使其呼风唤雨的紧张气氛。有了这样的局面和气氛,它就可以维持在中俄周边地区的军事存在和核心地位,它就可以保持和强化对俄罗斯和中国的遏制和围困。对华盛顿而言,冷战思想仍然是不能放弃的“宝贵财富”。美国在中俄周边地区频繁实施联合军演,实质上反映的是美国从冷战时代延续至今的战略构想。华盛顿就是要借军演制造紧张局势,以保持并加强其在亚太地区的主导地位,从而实现其称霸全球的“战略野心”。
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