巴基斯坦武裝無人機被疑採用中國技術
When Pakistan’s military claimed its first attack in October using a home-built drone to hit a Taliban stronghold, western officials were quick to search for clues to a Chinese connection.
巴基斯坦軍方去年10月宣佈首次使用國產無人機打擊一個塔利班據點後，西方官員們很快着手尋找中國技術的線索。
Experts say Pakistan’s “Burraq”, one of the two types of indigenously built armed drone, bears a striking resemblance to China’s CH-3.
專家們表示，巴基斯坦兩款國產武裝無人機之一“Burraq”與中國的彩虹-3(CH-3)無人機有着驚人的相似之處。
Pakistani officials lauded the drone that equipped the country with a technology that has been denied them by the US in 15 years as a key Washington ally in the campaign against terror.
巴基斯坦官員稱讚這種無人機填補了該國的一個技術空白，儘管該國15年來一直是美國反恐戰爭中的關鍵盟友，但美國始終拒絕提供這種技術。
“The Americans have given us billions of dollars and military equipment like F-16s since the 9/11 attacks,” says one senior Pakistani foreign ministry official. “But whenever we asked for armed drones, we were refused and the Americans always told us that was sensitive technology.”
“9/11恐怖襲擊發生後，美國人給了我們數十億美元援助和F-16戰鬥機等軍事裝備，”巴基斯坦外交部一名高級官員表示。“但我們每次要求獲得武裝無人機都遭到拒絕，美國人總是告訴我們，那是敏感技術。”
Although Pakistani officials deny suggestions of Chinese involvement in the country’s drone programme, western officials remain unconvinced as military ties between Beijing and Islamabad tighten.
儘管巴基斯坦官員否認中國參與該國無人機計劃的說法，但鑑於北京和伊斯蘭堡之間的軍事關係越來越密切，西方官員不相信巴基斯坦的否認。
Earlier this year, China confirmed an agreement to sell eight submarines to Pakistan in Beijing’s largest ever single defence export order.
去年，中國證實將向巴基斯坦出售8艘潛艇，這是中國史上最大的單筆軍工出口訂單。
Rana Tanveer Hussain, Pakistan’s minister of defence production, has confirmed that half of the eight submarines will be built at the Karachi shipyard and engineering works, boosting Pakistan’s shipbuilding capacity.
巴基斯坦國防生產部長拉納映維爾侯賽因(Rana Tanvir Hussain)已確認，8艘潛艇中的一半將在卡拉奇船廠和機器製造廠建造，從而提高巴基斯坦的造船能力。
“The two projects [building four submarines in China and four in Pakistan] will begin simultaneously,” he said, while commending China as an “all-weather friend”.
“這兩個項目（在中國和巴基斯坦分別建造4艘潛艇）將同時開始，”他表示。他讚賞中國是一個“全天候的朋友”。
Analysts say Pakistan is seeking to make China its main supplier of military hardware, partly due to the looser financial terms offered by Beijing, replacing traditional suppliers from the west.
分析人士表示，巴基斯坦正尋求將中國當作其主要的軍事裝備供應方（在一定程度上是由於北京方面的財務條款比較寬鬆），取代傳統的西方供應商。
One indication of China’s emergence as a rising arms exporter was highlighted in a recent report by the Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which concluded that China had increased its arms exports 143 per cent in the past five years, replacing Germany to become the world’s third-largest exporter after the US and Russia. China’s biggest customer during the period was Pakistan which, according to Sipri, bought 41 per cent of China’s exported arms.
瑞典的斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所(SIPRI)近期一份報告突顯中國作爲一個武器出口國的地位不斷上升。該報告的結論是，過去五年裏中國的武器出口增長143%，使其超越德國，成爲世界第三大軍火出口國，僅次於美國和俄羅斯。在此期間中國軍火出口的最大客戶就是巴基斯坦；據斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所估算，巴基斯坦購買了中國軍火出口的41%。
“China’s capacity to indigenously produce military platforms has made significant gains over the past decade or so, and gone are the days when it simply used to copy Soviet or Russian designs, so countries buying Chinese equipment like Pakistan certainly stand to gain,” says Peter Felstead, editor of IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, the global defence publication.
“過去10年期間，中國自主研製武器平臺的能力取得了長足進展，只能複製蘇聯或俄羅斯設計的日子早已過去了，因此巴基斯坦等國購買中國的裝備肯定是有利的，”全球防務刊物《簡氏防務週刊》(IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly)主編彼得菲爾斯塔德(Peter Felstead)表示。
“The gap between Chinese capabilities and those of the west have been narrowed, except in a few areas such as the production of aero-engines, for which Chinese-built platforms remain dependent on Russian imports.”
“中國與西方之間的技術能力差距已經收窄，只有少數領域除外，如航空發動機的生產，爲此，中國製造的飛機平臺仍依賴從俄羅斯進口的發動機。”
Mr Felstead’s reference to Russian components is most visible in the case of the JF-17 “Thunder” fighter jet, jointly manufactured by China and the Pakistan Air Force at its Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, just north of Islamabad. A senior Pakistan defence ministry official confirmed that the JF-17, which will become the PAF’s main second-line fighter jet, will be “powered for the foreseeable future” with the Russian-built RD-93 engine, overlooking Beijing’s offer of a Chinese engine.
菲爾斯塔德提到的俄製組件在巴基斯坦空軍的JF-17（中國稱爲“梟龍”，代號FC-1）戰鬥機上最爲明顯。中巴在伊斯蘭堡以北的巴基斯坦航空綜合企業(Pakistan Aeronautical Complex)聯合生產此型戰機。巴基斯坦國防部一名高官證實，將成爲巴基斯坦空軍主要二線戰鬥機的JF-17，“在可以預見的未來”仍將採用俄製RD-93發動機，而不是北京方面提議的一款中國製造的發動機。
Pieter Wezeman of Sipri says Chinese military equipment is at a disadvantage for not having been used in conflict situations, unlike hardware from western suppliers which comes with a combat history. “The only place where Chinese equipment is known to have performed alongside equipment from other suppliers is Pakistan,” he notes.
斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所的彼得韋策曼(Pieter Wezeman)表示，中國軍事裝備的一個不利因素是，它們從未用於實戰，而不像西方供應商提供的裝備那樣經受過實戰考驗。“巴基斯坦據信是中國的裝備同其他供應商的裝備搭配使用的唯一地方，”他指出。
In the case of Pakistan’s use of its first armed drone, Mr Wezeman says it is important to remember that it was used against Taliban targets in a remote region along the Afghan border, and it was not challenged by enemy aircraft. “One has to be careful before one sees this as a breakthrough,” he adds.
對於巴基斯坦首次利用武裝無人機的戰例，韋策曼表示，有必要記住的是，軍方是在阿富汗邊境的一個偏遠地區使用無人機打擊塔利班目標，沒有敵機對抗。“人們在認爲這是一個突破之前必須謹慎，”他補充道。
Still, western defence officials say Beijing’s strategy of offering significantly lower prices and a virtual absence of political strings gives China a rising presence in international markets.
話雖如此，西方防務官員們表示，北京方面的戰略（提供顯著較低的價格，基本上不附帶任何政治條件）使中國在國際軍火市場佔有越來越大的地盤。
