Is Int’l Army Games an opportunity for China to sell weapons?

中国借军事比赛推销武器?

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Li Jiayao
Time
2018-08-14 16:26:09

BEIJING, Aug. 3 (ChinaMil) -- The“International Army Games 2018” (IAG 2018), commonly nicknamed the “Military Olympics”, is still running. Out of a total of 28 competitions, China has hosted 4 and participated in 22.

However, the US Cable News Network (CNN) said on August 1 that the important reason for China to actively host and participate in the “IAG” is “using it as a marketing and advertising show to sell its weapons and military goods, as the country seeks to solidify its place as one of the world’s largest arms exporters.”

号称“军事奥运会”的“国际军事比赛-2018”正在火热举行,在全部28个项目中,中国不但承办了其中4项赛事,还参加了22项。不过美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)1日认为,中国积极承办和参加“国际军事比赛”的重要原因是“乘机对外展示和推销武器,巩固中国最大武器出口国之一的地位”。

China mostly uses domestic equipment in competitions

中国比赛大都使用国产装备

Reportedly, the Chinese component of the IAG kicked off Sunday in Korla in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. According to Chinese media, during the “Suvorov Attack” competition held in Korla, all participating countries used Type 86A infantry fighting vehicles provided by China, except for Russia, who used its own BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles.

报道称,7月29日,中国承办的“国际军事比赛-2018”赛事在新疆库尔勒赛区开幕。根据中国媒体的报道,在库尔勒赛区举行的“苏沃洛夫突击”项目中,除俄罗斯使用自带的BMP-2履带式步兵战车外,其他国家均使用中方提供的86A履带式步兵战车;

All participating countries used China-made equipment in the “Clear Sky” and “Safe Route” competitions. Among them, participating teams used the Type-92A armored personnel carrier and “QW-2” man-portable air-defense systems in the “Clear Sky” and GQL-111 heavy mechanized bridge systems in the “Safe Route” competition.

At the same time, all participants used China-made amphibious weapons and equipment in the “Seaborne Assault” competition that kicked off at Quanzhou in China’s southeastern coastal Fujian Province.

“晴空”与“安全路线”项目均使用中国装备,其中“晴空”使用92A轮式装甲输送车和“前卫-2”便携式防空导弹,“安全路线”使用的是国产GQL-111型重型机械化桥车。同时在福建省泉州开幕的“海上登陆赛”,所有参赛队使用的也是中国的两栖作战武器装备。

CNN claimed that “the countries involved in the games will use China-made military equipment for many of the competitions, giving them an opportunity to try before they buy.” Nick Marro, analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), said: “It's a chance for China to flex its military might to the world. In turn, that will help drive Chinese commercial opportunities.”

CNN认为,参与“国际军事比赛-2018”的国家将在许多项目中使用中国军事装备,“让他们有机会在购买之前去实际体验”。英国“经济学人智库”分析师尼克•马罗认为,“这不仅是中国向世界展示军事力量的机会,也将有助于推动中国的武器出口。”

The Asia Times, a Hong Kong-based news website, commented that most of the participating countries are potential buyers of China and Russia-made weapons. The IAG may spawn business opportunities because soldiers and military experts from East Europe and Central Asia can try China-made equipment and weapons in combat-like scenarios and weigh the quality and effectiveness of the products offered at a fraction of the price of similar equipment from the US and Europe.

“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invited all the foreign military officials to a symposium in Beijing after the games where Chinese defense contractors would showcase their latest products,” according the Asia Times.

香港《亚洲时报》网站评论称,多数参赛国是中国和俄罗斯武器的潜在买家。“国际军事比赛”可能产生商机,因为来自东欧和中亚国家的军人和军事专家,可以在类似实战的环境下试用中国制造的武器装备,权衡产品的质量和有效性,而这些产品的售价是美欧同类装备售价的很小一部分。“解放军已邀请所有外国军方官员在比赛结束后到北京参加一个研讨会,届时中国防务承包商将展示最新产品”。

China insists on using its own equipment in competitions in Russia

在俄比赛也坚持用本国产品

CNN emphasized that apart from competitions held domestically, China used its own equipment in competitions held abroad too. “During the Russia portions of the competition, Chinese H-6K bombers, J-10A fighter jets and Type 96B main battle tanks will be on display,” said CNN.

CNN特意强调,除了在中国举办的赛事外,中国赴其他国家的参赛队也大都使用的是本国装备。“在俄罗斯的赛事开幕式上,解放军出动国产坦克、火箭和直升机进行展示。在俄比赛期间,中国轰-6K轰炸机、歼-10A战斗机和96B型主战坦克都将上场”。

Russian media also seemed to indirectly confirm the US media speculations. According to Sputniknews.com, one of the important purposes of Russia’s hosting the IAG was to show the performance of its weapons and attract foreign buyers. It is worth noting that China obviously had the same intention. When the PLA participated in the core competition “Tank Biathlon”, it insisted on using its home-made 96-series main battle tanks instead of the T-72 main battle tank provided by Russia. “This affected the fairness of the games.”

俄罗斯媒体似乎也从侧面印证了美媒猜测。俄卫星网称,俄罗斯最初举办“国际军事比赛”的重要目的之一就在于对外展示武器性能,从而吸引海外买家。值得注意的是,中国显然也有同样的意图,解放军参加“国际军事比赛”核心项目“坦克两项”时,一直坚持使用国产96系列主战坦克,而非俄罗斯统一提供的T-72,“对比赛的公平性造成影响”。

CNN believed that China has reaped benefits by promoting and consolidating arms export through the IAG and other activities. For example, Pakistan, which participated in the competitions on the ground in Xinjiang, is the largest customer of China-made weapons. In 2017, more than one-third of China’s military exports, including JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, were shipped to Islamabad. Venezuela, who participated in the “Seaborne Assault” competition in Fujian, purchased an unknown number of C-802 anti-ship missiles from China in 2017.

CNN认为,中国通过“国际军事比赛”这类活动推销和巩固武器出口的效果不错,例如参加新疆陆地比赛的巴基斯坦是中国武器的最大客户,2017年中国军事出口的1/3以上运往伊斯兰堡,其中包括JF-17(中国代号“枭龙”)喷气式战斗机。参加福建“海上登陆赛”的委内瑞拉,2017年从中国购买了数量不详的C-802反舰导弹。

“China also wants to attract potential buyers from other neighboring countries to participate in the competition,” Michael Raska, an assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of Singapore said. “China is using arms exports as a tool in its foreign policy. This has increased China’s influence in relevant regions because regional countries rely on the military hardware provided by Beijing. The sales of weapons to more remote countries (such as Venezuela or Iran) are used as one of the means to deal with the United States.”

“中国还希望吸引其他邻国的潜在购买者参与比赛”。新加坡拉惹勒南国际关系研究院教授迈克尔•拉斯卡认为:“中国正在利用武器出口作为其外交政策的工具。此举增加了中国在相关地区的影响力,因为这些国家依赖北京提供的军事硬件。对更偏远国家(如委内瑞拉或伊朗)的武器销售,则被用作应对美国的手段之一”。

Using home-made equipment in international military competitions is normal

用国产装备参赛很正常

An anonymous Chinese expert believes that there is nothing wrong for China to insist on using home-made equipment in the IAG since the purpose of China’s participation in the competition itself was to “be able to train the troops to the maximum extent” and “be close to actual combat,” and it regarded improving combat effectiveness as the sole criterion for participating in the competitions or not.

一位匿名中国专家认为,中国在“国际军事比赛”中坚持使用国产装备无可厚非。中国参加该比赛的目的本身就是要“最大范围锻炼部队”“贴近实战”,把是否有利于提高战斗力作为参赛与否的唯一标准。

It is learnt that some outdated non-combat competitions require equipment that the PLA does not possess. While these competitions may add to the pleasure, they lack practicality. Although the PLA was repeatedly invited to participate in them, it refused due to this lack of direction and practicality.

据介绍,对一些内容老旧、我军没有相关型号装备、注重观赏性缺乏实战性和非作战人员为主的项目,虽然外方反复邀请,我们也拒绝参加,保证了比赛的针对性、实用性。

According to experts, military competitions are not traditional sports competitions. Since military competitions are practical, only through combining weapons and soldiers can they truly reflect one country’s combat effectiveness. Belarus, India and other countries have also used their own tanks in the recent “Tank Biathlon” in the IAG. The same is true in the West.

专家介绍说,军事比赛并非通常意义上的体育竞技,既然讲究实战性,使用各国实际装备的武器与士兵的组合,才能真正体现该国军队的战斗力。近年的“坦克两项”比赛中,白俄罗斯、印度等国也都用过本国坦克。西方也是同样的做法。

On the other hand, it is also normal for high-performance Chinese equipment in competitions to be favored by other countries. This is an accepted international practice, whether they are military competitions, aerobatic flight at an air show, or even a special firepower demonstration.

另一方面,如果中国装备在比赛中表现优异,获得其他国家青睐,也实属正常。无论是这样的军事比赛,还是航展上的飞行表演,甚至专门的火力展示演习,都是国际上通行的做法。

 

 

Related News

back