後續調查:美軍巡邏機飛越南中國海爭議島礁

The US military has carried out its threat to fly over contested islands in the South China Sea, in a dramatic escalation of tensions over the Chinese government’s land reclamation in the area.

美國踐行了此前的威脅，飛越了南中國海(South China Sea)有爭議島嶼的上空，令該地區圍繞中國政府領土訴求的緊張局勢急劇升溫。

A US Navy surveillance jet was warned to turn away by the Chinese navy as it approached Fiery Cross Reef, according to a CNN team that was invited aboard the flight. “This is the Chinese navy,” the English-language transmission said, according to an account by CNN on Thursday morning. “Please go away . . . to avoid misunderstanding.”

美國有線新聞網(CNN)一個團隊受邀登上了一架美國海軍的監控巡邏飛機。根據該團隊的說法，這架飛機曾在接近永暑礁(Fiery Cross Reef)時，收到中國海軍要求該飛機轉向的警告。週四早上，按照CNN一個賬號的說法，當時飛機收到的英語廣播表示：“這裏是中國海軍。請立刻返航……以避免誤判。”

The P8-A Poseidon aircraft passed over the reef, where Chinese construction teams are building an airfield and other installations, at about 15,000 feet on Wednesday afternoon.

根據CNN的報道，週三下午，這架P-8A海神反潛機(P-8A Poseidon)在大約1.5萬英尺的高度飛過永暑礁上空。在永暑礁，中國的建築團隊正在修建一座機場以及其他設施。

US officials had previously warned they were considering air and navy patrols within the 12 nautical mile territorial limit of islets and reefs on which China has been building new infrastructure.

在此之前，美國官員曾警告說，對於中國一直在修建新的基礎設施的小島和礁石，他們正考慮對其12海里領海範圍內開展空軍及海軍巡邏。

A US naval officer aboard the P8-A told CNN that “we see this every day” as the aircraft flew above Chinese dredgers, suggesting Wednesday’s overflight was not the first.

在飛機從中國的挖泥船上空飛過時，該P-8A反潛機上的一名美國海軍軍官告訴CNN“我們每天都會看到這些”。這句話意味着週三這次越境飛行的行爲不是首次發生。

But John Kerry, US secretary of state, dodged the issue during a press conference with his Chinese counterpart on May 16. At the same briefing, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warned that “China’s determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity is as firm as a rock”.

不過，在5月16日和中國外長共同召開的記者招待會上，美國國務卿約翰•克里(John Kerry)迴避了這個問題。當時，中國外長王毅曾警告說“中方維護自身主權、領土完整的意志堅如磐石，不容質疑”。

Mr Wang also emphasised that Beijing was committed to a peaceful resolution of its territorial disputes, principally with the Philippines and Vietnam, in the area and shared Washington’s commitment to freedom of navigation.

王毅還強調說，中國政府致力於和平解決該地區的領土爭端——主要是與菲律賓和越南之間的領土爭端。他還表示，中美都致力於維護南海和平與穩定，保障國際法賦予的航行自由。

The Chinese government maintains that its “island-building” activities are within the scope of its sovereignty, and says it is merely catching up with rivals that have also built airfields and other infrastructure on islets and reefs under their control.

中國政府堅稱“填海造島”活動是在其主權範圍內開展的，並表示中國的對手也在它們控制的島嶼和礁石上修建機場及其他基礎設施，中國只不過是在追隨他們的做法。

“This is China’s reaction to provocative actions by other parties,” said Jin Canrong, an international relations expert at Beijing’s Renmin University. “We have simply repeated what everybody else was already doing.”

北京的中國人民大學(Renmin University)的國際關係專家金燦榮表示：“這是中國對其他方面挑釁行爲的迴應。我們只是重複了所有人已經在做的事。”

US spy planes also routinely patrol China’s coast, where they are often tailed by jet fighters from the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. The Pentagon released a video of what it called a dangerous PLA intercept in August, which evoked memories of an April 2001 collision between a US spy plane and Chinese jet fighter near Hainan island.

美國偵察飛機也在定期沿中國海岸線巡邏。在中國海岸線附近，解放軍空軍往往會出動戰鬥機尾隨這些飛機。美國五角大樓(Pentagon)曾公佈一個視頻，並表示視頻中顯示了今年8月解放軍一次危險的攔截動作。該視頻令人想起了2001年4月份一架美國偵察飛機和中國戰鬥機在海南島附近發生的撞機事件。

The Chinese pilot died in that incident and the US air crew were held for two weeks after their damaged aircraft made an emergency landing on Hainan.

中方的飛行員在那次事故中喪生，而美方機組人員則在受損飛機緊急迫降在海南之後，被中方扣押了兩週。