美國資深參議員支持美軍南海巡邏

Pentagon plans to consider military patrols near disputed islands claimed by China in the South China Sea have won the approval of a top Democratic senator.

五角大樓醞釀在南中國海爭議島嶼附近進行軍事巡邏的計劃，贏得了一位民主黨資深參議員的贊同。

US patrols within 12 nautical miles of reefs that China has been building up in the Spratly Island chain would be a “positive step” that would help protect vital marine commerce lanes, said Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee

參議院外交關係委員會(Senate foreign relations committee)民主黨頭號人物本•卡丁(Ben Cardin)表示，美國在距離中國在斯普拉特利羣島（Spratly Islands，中國稱南沙羣島）從事填海造島的島礁不到12海里的海域巡邏，將是“積極的一步”，有助於保護至關重要的海上貿易通道。

He said China would be less likely to react aggressively to US military patrols than similar efforts by its southeast Asian neighbours, he added.

他補充說，面對美國的軍事巡邏，中國像它迴應東南亞鄰國的類似努力那樣作出激烈反應的可能性要小得多。

“What it is doing is preventing an incident or a provocative action from China,” said Mr Cardin. “If it were China versus one of the countries where it has territorial disputes, it is more likely that China would take action, but if it is the United States then I think it is less likely that they would take action”.

“這麼做的意義在於阻止意外或中國的挑釁行爲，”卡丁表示。“如果中國面對與它有領土爭端的國家之一，中國更有可能採取行動，但如果是美國，那麼我認爲他們採取行動的可能性沒那麼大。”

Beijing has reacted angrily to signs that the Pentagon was considering patrols, which would come after several years of Southeast Asian countries urging the US to take a more visible role. China has taken a more assertive stance in the South China Sea in recent years, with concerns among its neighbours intensifying as it has reclaimed land around contested reefs and built new installations.

北京方面已對五角大樓正考慮展開巡邏的跡象作出憤怒反應。近幾年來，東南亞國家一直在敦促美國扮演更加可見的角色。近年中國在南中國海採取了更爲強硬的姿態，隨着中國在有爭議的島礁周圍填海造島，並建造新的設施，鄰國的擔憂日益加劇。

“I think that it is actually less provocative that the United States is raising its flag. I don’t think that China wants to create a problem with the United States,” Mr Cardin said at a Christian Science Monitor event.

“我認爲美國升起旗幟實際上是一種不那麼挑釁的做法。我不認爲中國想要給美國製造問題，”卡丁在《基督教科學箴言報》(Christian Science Monitor)舉辦的一個大型活動上表示。

In the Senate last week, Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat for East Asia, urged Mr Cardin not to give up on diplomacy after he said the US appeared to be letting Chinese actions in the South China Sea go unchallenged.

上週在參議院，美國國務院亞太事務助理國務卿丹尼•羅素(Daniel Russel)敦促卡丁不要放棄外交努力，之前卡丁表示，美國似乎對中國在南中國海的行爲聽之任之。

“We’re not really showing any response to these type of provocative actions, other than issuing a press release,” Mr Cardin told Mr Russel. “And I think we’d like to do more. And we’d like to have our allies know that we are very much on their side against these provocative actions.”

“我們並沒有真正對這類挑釁行爲作出任何迴應，只是發佈了一份新聞稿，”卡丁對羅素表示。“我認爲我們希望做得更多。我們希望讓我們的盟友知道，我們堅決站在他們一邊，反對這些挑釁行爲。”

President Barack Obama launched a “pivot” to Asia in 2012 that was aimed that deploying a greater proportion of US naval assets in the Pacific to help counter the rise of the Chinese military. But many countries in South East Asia, and particularly the Philippines, have complained that the “pivot” has been more talk than action.

巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)總統在2012年啓動重返亞洲戰略，旨在把美國海軍的更大一部分實力部署到太平洋，以幫助反制中國的軍事崛起。但是，東南亞許多國家（尤其是菲律賓）紛紛抱怨，“重返戰略”空談多於行動。

Critics point to 2012 when a month-long stand-off between Chinese and Philippines naval vessels at Scarborough Shoal — a reef 120 nautical miles from the Philippines that is claimed by both countries — did not result in the US sending any navy ships to the area. The US opted not to send ships as it was worried about escalating tensions with China. But some experts believe that move signalled to China that its more assertive stance would not be met with a challenge.

批評者指出，2012年，中國和菲律賓的海軍艦艇在斯卡伯勒淺灘（Scarborough Shoal，中國稱黃巖島——譯者注）——與菲律賓本土相隔120海里的珊瑚礁，中國和菲律賓都宣稱擁有其主權——長達一個月的對峙，並未導致美國出動海軍艦船到場。美國因擔心與中國之間的緊張關係升級而選擇不派遣軍艦。但一些專家現在相信，此舉向中國方面發出的信號是，其更加強硬的姿態不會遇到挑戰。

The US and China attempted to publicly diffuse some tensions at the weekend during a visit by John Kerry, secretary of state, to Beijing. But Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, stressed that China’s determination to protect its “sovereignty and territorial integrity is as firm as a rock”.

上週末美國國務卿約翰•克里(John Kerry)訪問北京期間，美國和中國試圖在公開場合化解一部分緊張氣氛。但中國外長王毅強調，“中方維護自身主權、領土完整的意志堅如磐石”。

The South China Sea issue has also entered the US presidential race. Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American senator running for the Repblican presidential nomination, last week said the US needed to take a more assertive stance towards China, including in the South China Sea.

南中國海問題也已成爲美國總統競選的一個議題。正在角逐共和黨總統候選人提名的古巴裔參議員馬可•盧比奧(Marco Rubio)上週表示，美國需要對中國採取更強硬的姿態，包括在南中國海。

“Gone will be the days of debating where a ship is flagged or whether it is our place to criticise territorial expansionism,” he told the Council on Foreign Relations. In this century, businesses must have the freedom to operate around the world with confidence.”

“圍繞一艘船舶懸掛哪一國的旗子、或者我們批評領土擴張是否適當的辯論已經過時了，”他對美國外交關係委員會(Council on Foreign Relations)表示。“在本世紀，企業必須擁有在世界各地放心經營的自由。”

Speaking in Indonesia on Wednesday, Anthony Blinken, the US deputy secretary of state, said Chinese actions in the South China Sea were creating more unstable environment for commerce.

美國副國務卿安東尼•布林肯(Antony Blinken)週三在印尼發表講話時表示，中國在南中國海採取的行動，正給商業活動製造更加不穩定的環境。

“As China seeks to make sovereign land out of sandcastles and redraw maritime boundaries, it is eroding regional trust and undermining investor confidence,” Mr Blinken was cited as saying by Reuters.

“隨着中國力圖從沙堡中製造出主權，並重新繪製海洋邊界，它正在侵蝕地區信任，破壞投資者的信心，”路透社援引布林肯的話稱。