澳大利亞可能改變對亞投行的態度
Australia may overturn its opposition to joining the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank after the UK opted to sign up to the institution against the wishes of Washington.
The rethink by one of the US’s key allies which, alongside Japan and South Korea, has not applied to join the $50bn bank before the March 31 deadline will irk the US.
作爲美國的關鍵盟友之一，澳大利亞的重新考慮將引發美國不快。迄今澳大利亞連同日本和韓國，均尚未表示會在3月31日的截止日期之前申請加入這家資本達500億美元的開發銀行。Washington is already angered by the UK’s move to become the AIIB’s first member from the G7 group of leading economies.
華盛頓方面已經被英國的舉動激怒；英國此舉使其成爲首個加入亞投行的七國集團(G7)發達經濟體。
“I note that the UK has indicated an intention to sign up for the negotiations, the New Zealanders before Christmas signed up for the negotiations, the Singaporeans likewise, the Indians likewise,” said Tony Abbott, Australia’s prime minister.
“我注意到英國已表示有意參與到談判中，新西蘭在去年聖誕節前就參與了談判，新加坡和印度也是如此，”澳大利亞總理託尼•阿博特(Tony Abbott)表示。“We’re looking very carefully at this and we’ll make a decision in the next week or so,” he told The Australian newspaper.
“我們正在非常審慎地關注這一事態，並將在未來一週左右作出決定，”他對《澳大利亞人報》(The Australian)表示。The Obama administration is concerned that China is building a new generation of international development banks that could rival Washington-based institutions.
奧巴馬(Obama)政府擔心，中國正在打造新一代國際開發銀行，它們有可能與總部位於華盛頓的老牌機構爭風頭。Washington says it is not opposed to the AIIB but US officials fear it could become an instrument of Chinese foreign policy if Beijing ends up having veto power over the bank’s decisions.
華盛頓方面表示並不反對亞投行，但美國官員擔心，如果中國政府最終對該行決策擁有否決權，該行可能淪爲中國對外政策的工具。Canberra initially decided not to join after a cabinet debate that exposed tensions between economic ministries keen to sign up and a more sceptical foreign ministry.
堪培拉方面最初決定不加入亞投行，此前一場激烈的內閣辯論暴露了澳方內部分歧：主管經濟的部門熱衷於加入，但外交部抱有更大的疑慮。The UK’s move last week to join the AIIB has reopened the debate over whether Australia’s national interests lie with bolstering economic ties with China or deferring to the concerns expressed by its main military ally, the US.
上週英國加入亞投行的決定，重新點燃了澳大利亞內部的辯論，其焦點是：澳大利亞的國家利益是在於增進同中國的經貿往來，還是在於顧及主要軍事盟友美國的關切？“The UK joining the bank has given a good pretext for the government to rethink its original decision,” said Kerry Brown, director of the China Studies Centre at Sydney university. “There is a feeling it acted as a bit of a poodle of the US and it should take a more independent stance.”
“英國加入亞投行提供了一個很好的由頭，讓政府重新考慮當初的決定。”悉尼大學中國研究中心(China Studies Centre at Sydney university)主任克里•布朗(Kerry Brown)表示，“有一種感覺是，澳大利亞的角色有點像美國的獅子狗，它應該採取更加獨立的姿態。”The issue is politically fraught for Australia. Canberra must balance its rapidly growing economic relationship with China, which is its biggest trading partner, against its military alliance and close friendship with the US.
對澳大利亞來說，這件事在政治上十分棘手。堪培拉方面必須審慎把握平衡：一邊是澳大利亞與最大貿易伙伴中國快速發展的經貿往來，另一邊是澳大利亞與美國的軍事同盟和親密友誼。Julie Bishop, Australia’s foreign minister, said yesterday Canberra remained concerned that China had a 49 per cent shareholding in the bank, while the largest partners in other existing multilateral organisations retained a shareholding of 20 per cent.
澳大利亞外長畢曉普(Julie Bishop)昨日表示，堪培拉方面仍對中國持有亞投行49%股權感到擔憂，相比之下，現有多邊組織中規模最大的合作伙伴只保留20%的股權。“We want to ensure that anything that we invest in is meeting the very high standards of the kind of multilateral institutions that Australia has supported in the past,” she said.
“我們希望確保這一點，即我們投資的任何事物，都能達到澳大利亞一貫支持的那種多邊機構的極高標準，”她說。Ms Bishop told the Financial Times in a recent interview that Australia did not have to choose between China and the US as partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
畢曉普在近期接受採訪時告訴英國《金融時報》，澳大利亞沒有必要在中國和美國究竟誰纔是亞太地區合作伙伴這個問題上作出選擇。“It is not a zero-sum game,” she said. “We balance many relationships in our region and beyond.”
“這不是一場零和遊戲，”她說，“我們在所在地區乃至全球總得平衡衆多關係。”South Korea’s government has remained tight-lipped on the subject of joining the AIIB, despite heavy domestic media speculation on the subject. The Maeil Economic Daily, a leading business newspaper, reported last week that Seoul had won Washington’s blessing for South Korean entry to the AIIB, provided China’s proportion of the bank’s capital was reduced.
韓國政府在加入亞投行的問題上迄今守口如瓶，儘管其國內媒體對此進行了大量猜測。韓國知名財經報紙《每日經濟日報》(Maeil Economic Daily)上週報道稱，首爾方面在韓國加入亞投行一事上爭取到了美國同意——前提是中國減少其在該機構的持股比例。Seoul’s finance ministry responded to that report with a terse statement saying simply: “Nothing has been decided.”
韓國財政部用一份簡短聲明迴應那篇報道，稱：“一切尚未決定。”But it is engaged in talks with both China and the US regarding joining the bank, a senior ministry official said. “At the moment we need to consider all our options,” he said.
但韓國一位高級官員表示，該國正在加入亞投行的問題上同中國和美國展開磋商。“眼下我們需要考慮我方的所有選擇，”他說。
