张家栋
By Zhang Jiadong
美国—东盟峰会12日到13日在华盛顿举行。加上一周后美国总统拜登还将访问日韩，并在东京参加美日印澳“四方安全对话”机制峰会，不少媒体说，在俄乌冲突爆发近3个月后，拜登政府正将注意力转向亚太，尤其加大对该地区盟友和伙伴的拉拢。特朗普时期，美国曾打出“美国优先”旗号，呈现去同盟化趋势。拜登总统上台后，华盛顿重新开始强调同盟体系建设。尤其是在亚太，美国更是投入巨大精力，试图巩固传统同盟体系并构建新的同盟关系网络。
The US-ASEAN summit was held in Washington from May 12 to 13, and the US President Joe Biden has scheduled to visit Japan and ROK a week later and attend the leaders' summit of the US-Japan-India-Australia "Quad" mechanism (The Quad) in Tokyo. According to multiple media, the Biden administration has turned to the Asia-Pacific region, especially striving to intensify the efforts to woo allies and partners in the region nearly 3 months later since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. During the Trump era, the US upheld the banner of "America First", showing a tendency to weaken the alliance status. When Biden took office, the US re-emphasized the construction of the alliance system, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, where the US has been fully devoted to trying to consolidate the traditional alliance system and build a new alliance network.
美国在亚太地区的同盟体系建设呈现两个较为明显的变化：其一，从以地缘政治为中心的同盟体系，到以价值观为基础的同盟体系。其二，从以美国为中心的等级制同盟体系，到多中心、多形态、多层次的网络式同盟体系。以此为基础，美国试图在亚太地区构建出一个多层次、多领域的新同盟体系。这个亚太新同盟体系主要具有以下特征：
The construction of the US alliance system in the Asia-Pacific region has shown two prominent changes, a change from a geopolitics-oriented alliance system to avalue-based alliance system and a change from a hierarchical alliance system with the US at its core to a polycentric network alliance system of multiple forms and levels. On this basis, the US has been trying to build a multi-level new alliance system concerning multiple fields in the Asia-Pacific region. The features of the new Asia-Pacific alliance system are shown as follows:
一是“分层次”。这实际上是美国亚太同盟体系的一个固有特征。美国亚太同盟体系由核心盟友、盟友和战略合作伙伴三个层次组成。核心盟友是指“盎格鲁—撒克逊集团”，主要载体为奥库斯联盟和“五眼联盟”。盟友则是美国亚太同盟体系中的主要战略抓手。日本、韩国、泰国和菲律宾等与美国既有常规同盟条约，又在价值观上趋同。美国与印度、新加坡、印尼、马来西亚、蒙古国和越南等的战略合作伙伴关系是美国亚太同盟体系的外围支撑力量。在这个类型中，印度最为特殊。美国对印度是拉拢与防范并重，一方面致力于发展与印度的战略合作伙伴关系，甚至试图推动印度成为地区领导国家，另一方面又在寻求制衡印度的力量。
Firstly, it is of "multiple levels", which is actually an inherent feature of the US' alliance system in Asia-Pacific. The alliance system consists of three levels, namely core allies, allies and strategic partners. The core allies are the "Anglo-Saxon Group" with the AUKUS Alliance and the Five Eyes Alliance as the main carriers. Allies are of strategic significance in the US alliance system in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, the US has signed conventional alliance treaties with countries including Japan, ROK, Thailand, and the Philippines, and meanwhile, they share values. The US' strategic partnership with India, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia and Vietnam serves as a peripheral support force to the US Asia-Pacific alliance system. Among others, the US-India relationship is the most special, where the US has attached equal importance to wooing and keeping a lookout for India. On the one hand, the US has been committed to developing a strategic partnership with India, even making efforts to promote India to become a leading country in the region. On the other hand, the US has sought to counter balance India's strength.
二是“联网络”。美国试图把亚太同盟体系北约化，推动不少跨越同盟界限的新合作体系。通过这个分散式、多中心的同盟网络，美国希望增强自己的战略弹性和可持续性。美国试图通过“印太战略”把太平洋和印度洋地区的海洋大国联系起来，以日本为主要战略基点，以印度为主要拉拢对象，形成对陆地大国的弹性制衡。“四方安全对话”机制是美国的重要抓手，在这个机制框架之下还形成了几对双边国防外交的“2+2”对话机制和三边合作机制。日澳今年1月签署《互惠准入协定》，将两国关系推向准同盟高度。
Second, it is "networking". The US has tried to turn the alliance system in Asia-Pacific into another NATO while promoting many new cooperation systems going beyond alliances. It hopes to enhance its own strategic resilience and sustainability through the decentralized, polycentric network of alliances. To be specific, it tries to link the maritime powers in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions through its Indo-Pacific Strategy, with Japan as the main strategic base and India as the main target to win over, with a view to counterbalance the land powers with resiliency. The Quad is an important starting point for the US. Under the framework of the Quad, several "2 plus 2" Dialogues and trilateral cooperation mechanisms have also come into being for bilateral defense and diplomatic communication. Japan and Australia signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) in January this year, pushing their bilateral relationship to a quasi-alliance level.
三是“跨区域”。传统上，美国在亚太的同盟体系与跨大西洋体系是相互独立的。这样一来，亚太与欧洲的安全事务都要通过华盛顿，美国可以很方便地维持自己的战略轴心地位。一方面，美国在努力形成“三洋联动”格局，把大西洋、印度洋和太平洋的同盟体系整合起来，推动北约亚太化。今年4月，北约召开外长会，12年来首次修改战略方向和行动指南，并首次重点考虑“中国因素”。这次会上，日本、韩国、澳大利亚和新西兰被请进北约外长会会场。5月5日，韩国正式加入北约网络防御中心。这是该机构首次将成员扩大到欧洲以外国家，意味着韩国已加入北约的网络安全同盟体系。
Third, it is "cross-regional". Traditionally, the US alliance system in the Asia-Pacific region and its transatlantic system are independent of each other. In this way, the US has to deal with security affairs of the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, by which it is easy for the US to maintain its position as a strategic axis. On the one hand, the US has strived to form a "three-ocean linkage" pattern by integrating the alliance systems of the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean regions, with the ultimate aim of promoting the Asia-Pacificization of NATO. Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held in April this year, revising its strategic direction and action guidelines for the first time in the past 12 years, and focusing on the "China factor" for the first time. Besides, Japan, ROK, Australia and New Zealand were invited to attend the event. On May 5, ROK officially joined the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence. This marks the first time the agency has expanded its scope of recruitment beyond Europe, and means ROK has joined NATO's cyber security alliances system.
另一方面，美国还努力推动北约成员国与亚太盟国之间的双边军事合作。英国和法国已经开始在西太平洋地区的巡航活动。不久前，英国与日本也就“历史性地”签署《互惠准入协定》达成一致。这是日本签署的第三个同类协定，也是与欧洲国家签署的首个类似协定。
On the other hand, the US has also made efforts to promote bilateral military cooperation between NATO member states and its Asia-Pacific allies. The UK and France have already started cruising the Western Pacific. Not long ago, the UK and Japan also reached a historic agreement on signing a RAA, which marks the third of its type signed by Japan and also the first of its kind signed with a European country.
最后，值得注意的是，随着俄乌冲突持续，美国有可能从挤压俄罗斯地区和国际影响力的地缘政治目标，延伸到改变俄罗斯政治制度的价值观目标。与此相应，美国以价值观为基础的亚太同盟体系也有向建立更广泛的价值观同盟体系方向发展的可能性。
In the end, it is worth noting that, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict keeps going, the US may expand its geopolitical goal of strategically squeezing Russia and enhancing its own international influence to a value-oriented goal of converting Russia's political system. Correspondingly, the value-based US' alliance system in Asia-Pacific may also tend to develop into an even broader value-based alliance system.
(作者是复旦大学美国研究中心教授)
(The author is a professor at the Center for American Studies, Fudan University)
Editor's note: This article is originally published on huanqiu.com, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
