中國崛起加速美越關係解凍

The US has ended a 50-year arms emb-argo on communist Vietnam in the latest push to strengthen opposition to Chinese territorial ambitions in Asia’s seas.

美國已宣佈結束爲期50年的對共產黨統治的越南的軍火禁運。這是美國以更大力度對抗中國對亞洲海域領土企圖的最新舉動。

Barack Obama used yesterday’s first full day of a visit to Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, to announce that the US was lifting the weapons sales ban and hoped for growing co-operation between the two countries’ militaries.

在昨日對越南首都河內展開首個全天訪問期間，巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)宣佈美國將解除對越武器銷售禁令，並希望加強兩國軍隊之間的合作。

Analysts said the US president’s decision to sweep away this “lingering vestige of the cold war” was a sign that both states considered their shared aim of checking Beijing more important than mutual suspicions.

分析人士表示，美國總統決定掃除這一“揮之不去的冷戰遺蹟”表明，兩國認爲它們制衡北京方面的共同目標比相互猜忌更爲重要。

A US “pivot to Asia” comes after a long journey from the Southeast Asian war of the 1960s and 1970s that pitted communist North Vietnam against Washington and its south Vietnamese allies.

在1960年代至1970年代的那場東南亞戰爭過去很久之後，美國啓動了“重返亞洲”戰略。那場戰爭的一方是北越，另一方是美國及其南越盟友。

“The end of the arms embargo indicates a stronger rapprochement bet-ween the two former enemies,” said Le Hong Hiep, a research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, a Singapore think-tank.

“美國解除對越軍火禁運表明，這對宿敵之間的關係加強了，”新加坡智庫東南亞研究所(Institute of Southeast Asian Studies)研究員黎洪和(Le Hong Hiep)表示。

“The relationship between Hanoi and Washington is now fully normalised, and they are more ready now to step up their strategic co-operation, especially in the South China Sea, where their interests converge.”

“如今，河內與華盛頓之間實現了關係正常化，它們現在更加願意加強戰略合作，尤其在雙方利益一致的南中國海問題上。”

Tran Dai Quang, Vietnam’s president, thanked his US counterpart for lifting the embargo.

越南國家主席陳大光(Tran Dai Quang)就美國解除對越軍火禁運對奧巴馬錶示了感謝。

Mr Obama said the US and Vietnam had “developed a level of trust and co-operation”.

奧巴馬錶示，美越之間已經“發展了一定程度的信任與合作”。

Yesterday’s announcement came after news that the US was in talks to position military equipment in Vietnam for the first time since Saigon fell in 1975 to the North.

昨日美國宣佈解除對越軍火禁運之前，有報道稱，美國正與越南進行談判，擬在1975年西貢落入北越之手以來第一次在越南存放軍事裝備。

Landmarks in Hanoi, where the announcement was made, include the imposing mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, founder of the Vietnamese Communist party and inspiration of the North’s war effort.

奧巴馬在河內作出上述宣佈，該市的地標性建築包括雄偉的胡志明紀念館。胡志明是越共的創立者，也是北越發動戰爭的推手。

The US president’s Southeast Asian trip comes after Nguyen Phu Trong became the first Vietnam Communist party general secretary to visit the White House last year.

美國總統出訪東南亞之前，去年阮富仲(Nguyen Phu Trong)成爲首位訪問美國白宮的越共中央總書記。

The rise of China has hastened a thaw in US-Vietnam relations that began in earnest when Bill Clinton’s administration ended a long-running US trade embargo in 1994.

中國的崛起加快了美越關係解凍。1994年比爾•克林頓(Bill Clinton)政府終止一項長期的美國對越貿易禁運後，兩國關係開始積極解凍。

Fears are rising in Vietnam and other Asian countries about Beijing’s growing military and its efforts to claim disputed territory by building islands in the region’s seaways.

在越南和其他亞洲國家，人們對北京方面不斷強大的軍力，以及通過在亞洲海上航道造島來聲索爭議領土的努力越來越擔心。

Those worries have given the US the chance to strengthen security relationships in states in strategic points around Asia.

這些擔憂使美國有機會與地處亞洲戰略要地的國家加強安全關係。

US aircraft and ships have returned on a semi-permanent basis to the Philippines for the first time in more than two decades, while new guidelines have allowed for closer co-operation with Japan.

美國戰機和軍艦在時隔20多年後首次半永久性地返回菲律賓，而美日也發佈了加強合作的新指針。

The scrapping of the Vietnam arms embargo, which had been partly lifted in 2014, is unlikely to lead Hanoi to lobby for large orders of heavy weapons straight away.

美國全面解除對越軍火禁運（2014年已部分解除），不太可能導致越南馬上游說進口大批重型武器。

Instead targets in the short term could include radar systems, patrol boats and other items that would improve Vietnam’s ability to monitor and maintain a presence in important seaways.

相反，越南在近期的進口目標可能包括雷達系統、巡邏艇以及其他提升越南在重要航道上實施監控和維持存在能力的裝備。

Analysts said the government in Hanoi would be wary of antagonising China, on which Vietnam depends heavily for imports. The neighbours have a complex relationship, which includes political and cultural ties as well as formal partnerships relating to military and civilian security.

分析人士稱，河內方面將謹防激怒中國，該國對中國進口的依賴程度很深。這兩個鄰國之間的關係很複雜，既包括政治與文化關係，也包括軍事與民事安全方面的正式合作。