What are US, India up to with military drills deep in Himalayas?

美印在喜马拉雅山深处军演有何居心?

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Lin Congyi
Time
2022-09-05 17:25:25

By Wang Shida

王世达

CNN and other media recently reported that the US and India will stage joint military exercises in northern India less than 100km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the China-India border. What is the US up to stating military drills on the barren land deep in the Himalayas at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters?

近期,美国有线电视新闻网等媒体报道,美国将与印度在印度北部距离中印边境实控线不到100公里处举行联合军事演习。美军跑到喜马拉雅山深处,在海拔3000米以上的不毛之地与印度搞联合军事演习,到底有何居心?

The US is fanning flames around China.

美国加紧在中国周边煽风点火

A senior official from the Indian Army said the military drills will be held in mid-October at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters in Auli in the Indian state of Uttarakhand as part of the 18th round of an annual joint exercise known as “YudhAbhyas”, or “War Practice ”. 

据印度陆军一位高级军官表示,此次军演将于10月中旬在印度北阿坎德邦海拔3000多米的奥利山区举行,该演习是美印第18轮“准备战争”(YudhAbhyas)年度联合演习的一部分。

The US makes no secret the purposes of the exercise. First, it is to continue hyping the “Indo-Pacific” concept. The spokesperson of the US Department of Defense John Kirby said the US-India partnership is one of the most important elements for the so-called common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and that the “YudhAbhyas” exercise will strengthen the two militaries’ coordination and interoperability to better cope with a series of regional security challenges. Second, it is undisguisedly targeted at China. When Charles Flynn, commanding general of the United States Army Pacific, visited New Delhi in June, he talked through his hat that China is conducting appalling activities on the border with India and that its accelerated infrastructure construction calls for an alert.

美国方面对于演习目的毫不避讳。一是继续炒作“印太”概念。美国国防部发言人柯比表示,美国同印度的合作伙伴关系是所谓“自由开放印太地区共同愿景的最重要元素之一”。“准备战争”联合军演有助于“加强两军协作,提高互操作性,提高应对一系列地区安全挑战的能力”。二是针对中国意味明显。美国陆军太平洋司令部司令查尔斯•弗林6月访问新德里时就污蔑“中国在中印边境活动水平惊人”,妄称“中国加速基础设施建设值得警惕”。

In fact, as the US has consistently shifted the focus of its national security strategy and global strategy toward "coping with major-country competition and geopolitical game", the US government is going to great lengths to counter and hedge the influence of rising China in a broader geographical scope. In this process, making sure that India, the western anchor of its Indo-Pacific strategy, accepts and cooperates in it so they can join hands in countering China becomes a topic high on America's agenda. Considering the frequent frictions in bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the many Indo-Pacific economic cooperation initiatives that have barely gotten off the ground, and their often varied positions on international and regional affairs, defense and security is one of the few areas where the US and India have highly aligned interests and can push substantial cooperation forward. As DoD spokesperson Kirby said, military exercise and training and other related activities are important ways for the two countries to push forward the Indo-Pacific vision.

事实上,随着美国国家安全战略和全球战略重点持续转向所谓“应对大国竞争和地缘政治博弈”,美国政府孜孜以求“在更大地理范围平衡和对冲中国崛起的影响”。其中,确保作为其“印太战略”西部之锚的印度接受该战略设想并予以有效配合,进而实现所谓“联手制衡中国”就成为美国重点关注议题。相比在双边经贸领域摩擦不断、印太经济合作倡议名目繁多但鲜有实质落地,加上在诸多国际和地区事务中立场各异,防务和安全成为美印少数既能利益高度契合又能推动实质合作的领域之一。美国国防部发言人柯比表示,美印联合推动“印太愿景”的重要因素就是军事演习和培训等相关活动。

How to maintain strategic independence is a test of India's political wisdom.

如何维持战略自主考验印度政治智慧

Not picking sides between major countries, always giving itself some leeway – this is a valid diplomatic and strategic legacy India has upheld in different historical periods to maintain its national interests. However, whether the Indian government admits it or not, it has betrayed this tradition and got tied up to America’s chariot of war, as evidenced by its embrace of the “Indo-Pacific” concept and the US-Japan-India-Australia quadrilateral security dialogue, generally known as the Quad. Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in public in August that “the Quad is the most prominent plurilateral platform that addresses contemporary challenges and opportunities ”. It has played a magnificent role in a range of areas. The whole region will benefit from its activities, and anyone with reservations about the mechanism would be denying other countries’ choices and raising a unilateral objection to collective cooperation.

在不同历史阶段,不在大国之间公开选边站队、保留本国回旋余地一直被印度视为行之有效的外交和战略遗产,有效维护了印度的国家利益。然而,尽管印度政府不愿承认,但印度实质上已经背弃了这一传统,变相被美国绑在了战车之上。这突出表现在印度对于“印太”概念以及美日印澳四边安全对话机制的接受和拥抱。印度外长苏杰生8月在公开讲话中表示,“美日印澳四边安全对话机制是应对当前地区挑战和机遇最突出的多边平台,在一系列领域发挥了突出作用。整个地区都将从该机制的活动中受益。任何人对该机制持保留意见,就意味着否决别国的选择,并对集体合作提出单边主义反对”。 

Facts have proven that the US is to blame for a series of international hotspot issues or even crises, ranging from the Afghan War to the Ukraine crisis. To call it the biggest troublemaker would be no exaggeration because the country has always attempted to impose the burden of cost on other countries by creating troubles and crises, so as to maintain its own hegemony and so-called position of strength. The US is focused on only one thing – its own national interests, which is why it was capable of just taking off and leaving the publicly elected Afghan government hanging on the line, why it wouldn't send troops to Ukraine after the crisis there escalated, but instead left the pro-America Ukraine government to carry the can against Russia. With all these happening not that long ago, China and India, being eastern powers with profound strategic culture and tradition, must keep cool-headed and not be led astray by anyone.

事实证明,美国对于阿富汗战争、乌克兰危机等一系列国际热点问题甚至危机难辞其咎,甚至本身就是最大根源,其试图通过“制造问题和危机”给他国实施成本强加,进而维系自身霸权和所谓优势地位。在这一过程中,美国的关注点永远只有一个,那就是美国的国家利益。这也是为何美国不顾阿富汗民选政府死活,执意拍屁股走人,也是为何美国在乌克兰危机升级后公开表示,不会出兵乌克兰,而是让亲美的乌克兰当局独自与俄罗斯对阵。作为拥有深厚战略文化和传统的东方大国,中国和印度必须始终保持头脑清醒,避免被他国“带节奏”。

(The author is deputy director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations)

(作者为中国现代国际关系研究院南亚所副所长) 

Editor's note: This article is originally published on chinadaily.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.

Related News

Continue...