By Chen Hong
陈弘
The Senate of the United States Congress approved a USD 95 billion overseas military aid bill that mainly involves huge budgets for Ukraine and Israel this week. However, the USD 2.3 billion fund in aid to the countries related to the Compact of Free Association (COFA) that the Biden administration had promised was excluded. The news came with disappointment and dissatisfaction from the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands.
美国国会参议院本周批准了一项价值950亿美元的对外军援法案，其中主要涉及对乌克兰和以色列的巨额援助。但拜登政府原先承诺的对“《自由联系协定》国家”的23亿美元援助资金却未包括在内。消息传来，密克罗尼西亚联邦、帕劳和马绍尔群岛三国顿感失望和不满。
The Pacific island countries including the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands had paid a heavy price for the US military operations against Japan during the Pacific War. After the war, they have long been administered and controlled by the US in domestic and foreign affairs until they gained independence in the mid-1980s. However, they signed the so-called COFA with the US to transfer their defense powers to the US, enabling unrestricted access to the territorial lands, air spaces and waters of the three countries and to deploy military forces and equipment there.
密克罗尼西亚联邦、帕劳和马绍尔群岛等太平洋岛国，曾在太平洋战争期间为美国对日军事行动付出重大代价。战后，它们又长期由美国托管和掌控内政外交，直到20世纪80年代中期才获独立，但均与美国签署所谓《自由联系协定》，即将国防权力交由美国负责，美国对这三国的领土、领空和领海拥有不受限制的准入权，可在那里部署军事力量和装备。
In other words, the three COFA countries are ceding their major sovereignty over national security in exchange for economic aid from the US. The so-called "free association" is virtually an extremely unequal relationship, territorial and sovereign fishing and encroachment upon weak countries from a superpower to seek geographical advantages in the Pacific for hegemonic strategic purposes of the latter.
换句话说，三个“自联协定国”是通过让渡国家安全这一重要主权来换取美国经济援助。所谓的“自由联系”实质上是一种极不平等的关系，是超级大国对弱小国家领土和主权的渔猎和侵蚀，以谋求它在太平洋地区的地缘优势，服务其霸权战略目的。
In fact, these island countries and their peoples are completely treated as pawns and even victims in their relations with the US. Between 1946 and 1958, the US conducted up to 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands in disregard of the human rights and environmental concerns of the local community and transported nuclear wastes from nuclear tests within the US to the Bikini Atoll for landfill. Meanwhile, most assistance provided by the US and some of its allies in recent years has been clearly politically motivated, such as investing in the so-called institutional building and capability training, completely porting Western political systems and governance models, and brainwashing the political parties, civil servants, non-governmental organizations and media of the relevant island countries with Western ideology. The ultimate purpose is to turn these countries into vassals of the US-led West ideologically and institutionally.
事实上，在与美国的关系中，这些岛国及其民众完全被当作了棋子甚至牺牲品。1946年到1958年间，美国无视当地人民的人权和环境，在马绍尔群岛进行了多达67次的核试验，还将美国本土核试验产生的核废料运至该国的比基尼环礁填埋。与此同时，美国及其一些盟国这些年来向当地提供的援助大多带有明确政治动机，比如斥资从事所谓“制度建设”和“能力培训”，全盘移植西方政治制度和治理模式，对相关岛国的政党、公务员、非政府组织和媒体进行西方意识形态的洗脑式灌输，最终目的是在思想上和体制上把这些国家变成美西方的附庸。
Pacific island countries have increasingly engaged in mutually beneficial cooperation with China in recent years. China's assistance and relevant cooperation projects to these countries do not attach any political strings and are pragmatically effective. These efforts have fundamentally improved local infrastructure and living conditions of residents and facilitated their economic development, thus having been widely acclaimed by the local governments and people.
近些年来，太平洋岛国和中国开展越来越多的互惠互利合作。中国对岛国的援助和相关合作项目不附加任何政治条件且务实有效，根本上改善了当地基础设施和民生状况，推动了经济发展，受到当地政府和人民的普遍欢迎。
However, to contain and undermine China's peaceful development, the US has continuously implemented and vigorously promoted the so-called "Indo-Pacific Strategy" over the years, and the South Pacific region has become an important link in its strategic game. Washington obviously wants to build these three countries into its forward bases against China strategically by taking full advantage of its special military relationships with them.
但为遏制和破坏中国的和平发展，美国近年来不断落实和大力推进所谓“印太战略”，南太地区成为这个战略棋局上的重要一环。华盛顿显然希望充分利用与这三个国家在军事上的特殊关系，将它们打造成反华战略的前沿基地。
With the imminent expiration of the COFAs between the US and these countries last year, the Biden administration renewed them with promises of USD 7.1 billion in aid as bait. Washington has made lofty claims, but it has proved difficult for it to follow through. Given the US' already strained constant huge military assistance to Ukraine and Israel, coupled with the context of the election year, the aids to the COFA countries were removed from the US agendas under its geo-strategic calculations.
去年，随着美国同这些国家的《自由联系协定》即将到期，拜登政府以承诺提供71亿美元援助为诱饵分别和三国续签“协定”。但华盛顿的“饼”画得虽大，但却很难兑现。美国对乌克兰和以色列的持续巨额军援已经变得捉襟见肘，加上今年又是大选年，于是在美国地缘战略的算盘之下，对“自联协定国”的援助就被抛到了计划之外。
The current capabilities of the US can no longer keep pace with the advance of its global hegemonic strategy. For some of its allies and partners, Washington often adopts pie-in-the-sky tactics to tie them to its anti-China chariot by means of inducement and coercion. In fact, such words are usually just empty talks, and this is not the first time that the US' promises to the three countries related to the COFA have fallen flat, and it won't be the last. These accord participants and other relevant countries pressing for aid reimbursement from the US should also be soberly aware that instead of acting as a tool of the US hegemonic strategy, they should uphold their sovereignty and dignity with integrity, which is truly conducive to their long-term national interests.
美国当前的能力已经跟不上其全球霸权战略推进的步伐。对于一些盟国和伙伴，华盛顿往往采取“画饼战术”，通过利诱加胁迫的手段将一些国家绑上其反华战车。但这样的空口许诺往往口惠而实不至，这次对三个“《自由联系协定》国家”的承诺落空不是第一次，也不会是最后一次。这些向美国追讨援助的“自联协定国”和其他相关国家也应更加清醒：与其充当美国霸权战略的工具，不如堂堂正正维护自己的主权和尊严，那样才是真正有利于国家长远利益。
(The author is the executive director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies, East China Normal University.)
（作者是华东师范大学教授、亚太研究中心执行主任）
Editor's note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
