UK, ROK try in vain to rock Asian-Pacific situation with joint maritime exercises

英韩海上联演欲搅局亚太但力不从心

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Xu Yi
Time
2021-09-07 16:46:09
演习编队
The formation in the joint exercises.

 

凌云志

By Ling Yunzhi

据外媒报道,韩国海军和英国“伊丽莎白女王”号航空母舰编队于8月31日在日本海附近进行了联合演习。在当前亚太地区热点频发的背景下,英韩举行联合军演不仅可能会加剧朝韩关系紧张,对朝鲜半岛安全产生不利影响,也会使未来亚太地区局势进一步复杂化。

Foreign media reported that the ROK Navy and the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth formation carried out joint exercises near the Sea of Japan on August 31. Given the constant hotspot issues in the Asia Pacific, the joint exercises may not only aggravate the ROK-DPRK tension and negatively affect the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, but also make the future Asian-Pacific situation more complicated.

韩国欲借军演实现“航母梦”

ROK intends to realize “aircraft carrier dream” through the exercises

韩国作为亚太地区的重要国家,一直在走发展“独立军事力量”的道路,在对待大国竞争问题上表现得克制且谨慎。对于本次与英国航母舰队进行的联合军事演习,韩国一度犹豫不决,但最终还是同意参加,除了意图加强与英国等西方国家关系,将发展的动向转向西方外,最大的诱惑还是希望通过演习,进一步了解英国航母的作战能力,促使英国帮其研制轻型航母。

As an important country in the Asia Pacific, ROK has been developing independent military forces and remained restrained and cautious on the major-country competition. In spite of a temporary hesitation, Seoul finally agreed to the joint military exercises with the British carrier fleet because it wished to take this opportunity to tighten the ties with Britain and other western countries and, more importantly, learn more about the carrier’s combat capabilities through the exercise and get Britain to help it develop its own light carriers.

在此次演习中,韩国派出1.4万吨级的准航母“独岛”号两栖攻击舰,并从釜山海军基地起飞了UH-60黑鹰直升机在英国的“伊丽莎白女王”号航母上进行了起降,其最终目的就是希望利用这个机会,对“伊丽莎白女王”号航母有更直接的接触和更深层次的了解,从而加快其航母研发进程,实现其长期追寻的“航母梦”。

For the exercises, ROK dispatched its 14,000-ton Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, a quasi-aircraft carrier, and its Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk also took off from the Busan naval base and had landing and takeoff on Queen Elizabeth. What ROK want is to have direct contact and a deeper understanding of the carrier, and consequently accelerate the R&D of its own carriers and realize its long-harbored “carrier dream”.

英国欲借亚太实现“影响力拓展”

Britain wants to expand influence through Asia Pacific

作为域外国家,英国布局亚太地区的意图非常明显,背后也颇有深意。当前,亚太地区正成为全球地缘政治焦点,英国也开始加大在亚太地区的军力部署力度,意在提前布局,抢占先机。同时,英国还希望在“脱欧”后拓展更大国际活动空间,承担起“真正的全球角色”。

As a country out of the region, the UK makes no secret of its intention of making deployments in the Asia Pacific, for which it has some deep considerations. As the Asian-Pacific region is becoming a global geopolitical focus, the UK has ramped up its military deployments here in a bid to take a preemptive step and hold a favorable position, with the bigger goal of expanding the activity space on the international stage in the post-Brexit period and playing a truly global role.

为此,2020年11月20日,英国首相约翰逊在下院发表演讲,公布了英国数十年以来最大的军事计划,宣布英国海军将在2021年重返亚太地区,其中就包括“伊丽莎白女王”号航母赴亚太地区展开军事行动的举措,将其作为落实“全球英国”战略的具体抓手。此次英韩举行联合军演,恰恰就是“伊丽莎白女王”号航母编队巡航亚太行程的一项重要内容。

For that purpose, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a speech at the House of Commons on November 20, 2020, in which he announced the country’s most ambitious military plan in decades and the return of the British navy to the Asia Pacific in 2021. Part of the plan was sending the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth to the region for military operations as a step to implement the “Global Britain” strategy. The recent joint exercises between London and Seoul were a key item on the itinerary of the British carrier task force in the region.

此外,英国与韩国举行联合军事演习也是当前美国在亚太地区开展和参与一系列演习的重要组成部分。“伊丽莎白女王”号航母编队在抵达韩国水域之前,就已经和美国以及日本进行了联合军演。而在“伊丽莎白女王”号航母结束军演北上行程中,美国、澳大利亚、荷兰等都北约盟友也纷纷站队支持,施以援手,派出舰船为英国航母护航,充实看上去有点单薄的英国航母编队。

Moreover, the UK-ROK joint exercises also made an important part of the series of regional exercises initiated or participated in by the US. Before the British carrier formation arrived in ROK waters, it had already joined military exercises with the US and Japan. When it sailed northward afterward, its NATO allies, including the US, Australia and the Netherlands, expressed support and sent vessels to escort and replenish the somewhat slim British carrier formation.

此外,在演习中,英国海军还使用搭载于英国航母的美国F-35B隐形战斗机进行了升降演练,以检验和强化美英两国的作战配合,这些都使得这次英韩举行的联合演习不再是一次单独事件,而是美国在亚太举行系列军演的有力补充和重要组成部分。

During the exercises, the British navy also conducted takeoff and landing drills using the US F-35B stealth fighters fitted on the aircraft carrier to test and strengthen their combat cooperation. Therefore, the UK-ROK exercises are by no means an individual event, but an important supplement and component of America’s series of exercises in the Asian-Pacific region.

实力不济难以支撑“全球雄心”

Limited strength cannot match global ambition

作为曾经的“日不落帝国”,英国转向亚太地区有充足的内部动力,但事实上,随着英国的整体实力在第二次世界大战后就逐步下滑,其综合实力已经难以支撑英国的“全球化雄心”。

The one-time global empire is sufficiently motivated to turn to the Asia Pacific, but as Britain’s overall strength has been on the decline after WWII, it is barely able to sustain its global ambition.

以英国海军为例,其本身力量已经严重不足,作为其海上力量象征的“伊丽莎白女王”号航母上可搭载的战机非常少,只有一个舰载机队配齐了12架F-35B,远没达到40-50架飞机的要求。而且,除了战斗机数量不足外,“伊丽莎白女王”号航母还面临着编队力量不足的尴尬,在此次巡航过程中,航母打击群还需要美国和荷兰军舰提供护航。同时,对于英国海军来说,目前能提供弹药等固体物资补给的补给舰已经严重老化,极大制约着英国海军的远洋巡航威慑能力。

Take the British navy for example. The navy itself is seriously understaffed and under-equipped, and the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, the symbol of its maritime forces, is equipped with very few fighter jets, far less than the standard 40-50. As well as the small number of fighters, the carrier task force is so understrength that it needed escorts from American and Dutch vessels during its patrol this time. Besides, Britain’s supply ships that can provide ammunition and other dry good supplies are extremely aged, which greatly undermines the navy’s deterrence during the oceangoing patrol.

总体上来说,受到英国综合实力现状和国际格局变化的影响,英国在亚太地区采取的军事举措成效有限。尽管美国、日本等国对英国转向亚太地区均表示欢迎并极力拉拢,但其背后是基于自身利益的考量。而随着世界各大国争相角逐,重心东移,当前的亚太地区局势可谓扑朔迷离。从这个意义上来说,英国跟风转向亚太地区并非明智之举。

In sum, due to the UK’s current overall national strength and the changes in the international situation, the effects of its military operations in the Asian-Pacific region will be limited. Although countries like the US and Japan expressed a welcome to London’s shift toward the region and tried hard to rope it in, they all have their own calculations, not to mention that the regional situation has become ever more complex with the growing competition among major countries and their shift of focus to the east. In this connection, it is really not a wise move for Britain to swim with the tide to the Asia Pacific.

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