哈里斯 美軍將繼續在南海展開行動
The US will continue to conduct “routine” operations in the South China Sea, the head of the US Pacific Command told a Chinese audience on Tuesday, even as he called for closer ties between the American and Chinese militaries.
週二，美國太平洋司令部司令海軍上將哈里哈里斯(Admiral Harry Harris)對中國聽衆表示，美國將繼續在南中國海展開“例行”行動，儘管他同時也呼籲美中兩國軍隊加強聯繫。
Admiral Harry Harris said US naval operations near territory claimed by China were not “a threat to any nation” but were designed to defend freedom of navigation in international waters.
哈里斯說，美國海軍在靠近中國聲稱擁有主權的地方展開的行動“不對任何國家構成威脅”，而是旨在捍衛國際水域的航行自由。
“We are making it clear that... will continue to fly, sail and operate whenever and wherever international law allows,” he said in a speech at Peking University’s Stanford Center. “The South China Sea is not — and will not — be an exception.”
“我們明確指出……美軍將繼續在國際法允許的一切時段和地方飛行、航行和展開行動，”他在北京大學斯坦福中心致辭稱，“南中國海現在不是例外，以後也不會是。”
Adm Harris was speaking in Beijing a week after a US destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island in the South China Sea that is claimed by China and where it is constructing an airfield that could have military use. China reacted angrily to the US exercise, accusing the US of interfering in territorial disputes.
哈里斯在北京發表此番言論的一週前，一艘美國驅逐艦駛入了南中國海一座人工島周邊12海里水域內。中國聲稱擁有該島的主權，並正在島上修建一座可能具有軍事用途的機場。中國對美國的行動報以憤怒的迴應，譴責美國干涉領土爭端。
The US navy says the mission, which it insists was a “freedom of navigation operation”, was not designed to challenge China’s land claims in the South China Sea, where five other countries also contest many of the islands and land features. Instead, the US says it wanted to show that artificial islands — such as the reclaimed land at Subi Reef where the USS Lassen sailed — do not confer rights to the seas surrounding them.
美國海軍堅稱這是一次“航行自由行動”，不是爲了挑戰中國在南中國海的領土聲索。除了中國，還有五個國家聲稱對南中國海的許多島嶼和地物擁有主權。美國表示，它其實是想表明，人工島——比如中國在渚碧礁(Subi Reef)填海造出的島——不會使造島方在島嶼周邊水域擁有任何權利。美國拉森號(USS Lassen)驅逐艦駛近的就是渚碧礁。
Behind the sparring over international law is a broader contest between the US and China in the western Pacific. China’s ambitious programme of land reclamation in the South China Sea is one element of a strategy to slowly shift the balance of power in a region that has been dominated for seven decades by the US Navy.
在這場圍繞國際法展開的爭吵的背後，是美中在西太平洋的一場更大的較量。中國雄心勃勃的南中國海填海造島計劃，是它緩慢改變西太平洋力量平衡的戰略的一部分。美國海軍主宰西太平洋已有70年之久。
Although Adm Harris, who earlier this year accused China of trying to create a “great wall of sand” in the South China Sea, issued a strong defence of the US operation last week, his remarks in Beijing were relatively restrained. He said it was important for US and Chinese military leaders to have “personal and candid conversations”.
今年早些時候，哈里斯曾指責中國企圖在南中國海構築一道“沙長城”。儘管哈里斯上週對美國的行動進行了強烈辯護，但他在北京的講話較爲剋制。他表示，美中兩軍領導人展開“私下的坦誠對話”很重要。
Ashton Carter, US defence secretary, is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart General Chang Wanquan later on Tuesday on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian defence ministers in Kuala Lumpur and where the South China Sea will figure high on the agenda.
週二晚些時候，預計美國國防部長阿什頓慍祓(Ashton Carter)將利用在吉隆坡舉行的東盟防長會議的間隙會晤中國國防部長常萬全上將。南中國海問題將在此次會議議程中佔據重要位置。
