美国资深参议员支持美军南海巡逻

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.

五角大楼酝酿在南中国海争议岛屿附近进行军事巡逻的计划，赢得了一位民主党资深参议员的赞同。

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

参议院外交关系委员会(Senate foreign relations committee)民主党头号人物本•卡丁(Ben Cardin)表示，美国在距离中国在斯普拉特利群岛（Spratly Islands，中国称南沙群岛）从事填海造岛的岛礁不到12海里的海域巡逻，将是“积极的一步”，有助于保护至关重要的海上贸易通道。

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

他补充说，面对美国的军事巡逻，中国像它回应东南亚邻国的类似努力那样作出激烈反应的可能性要小得多。

“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”.

“这么做的意义在于阻止意外或中国的挑衅行为，”卡丁表示。“如果中国面对与它有领土争端的国家之一，中国更有可能采取行动，但如果是美国，那么我认为他们采取行动的可能性没那么大。”

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.

北京方面已对五角大楼正考虑展开巡逻的迹象作出愤怒反应。近几年来，东南亚国家一直在敦促美国扮演更加可见的角色。近年中国在南中国海采取了更为强硬的姿态，随着中国在有争议的岛礁周围填海造岛，并建造新的设施，邻国的担忧日益加剧。

“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.

“我认为美国升起旗帜实际上是一种不那么挑衅的做法。我不认为中国想要给美国制造问题，”卡丁在《基督教科学箴言报》(Christian Science Monitor)举办的一个大型活动上表示。

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.

上周在参议院，美国国务院亚太事务助理国务卿丹尼•罗素(Daniel Russel)敦促卡丁不要放弃外交努力，之前卡丁表示，美国似乎对中国在南中国海的行为听之任之。

“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.”

“我们并没有真正对这类挑衅行为作出任何回应，只是发布了一份新闻稿，”卡丁对罗素表示。“我认为我们希望做得更多。我们希望让我们的盟友知道，我们坚决站在他们一边，反对这些挑衅行为。”

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•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统在2012年启动重返亚洲战略，旨在把美国海军的更大一部分实力部署到太平洋，以帮助反制中国的军事崛起。但是，东南亚许多国家（尤其是菲律宾）纷纷抱怨，“重返战略”空谈多于行动。

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.

批评者指出，2012年，中国和菲律宾的海军舰艇在斯卡伯勒浅滩（Scarborough Shoal，中国称黄岩岛——译者注）——与菲律宾本土相隔120海里的珊瑚礁，中国和菲律宾都宣称拥有其主权——长达一个月的对峙，并未导致美国出动海军舰船到场。美国因担心与中国之间的紧张关系升级而选择不派遣军舰。但一些专家现在相信，此举向中国方面发出的信号是，其更加强硬的姿态不会遇到挑战。

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”.

上周末美国国务卿约翰•克里(John Kerry)访问北京期间，美国和中国试图在公开场合化解一部分紧张气氛。但中国外长王毅强调，“中方维护自身主权、领土完整的意志坚如磐石”。

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.

南中国海问题也已成为美国总统竞选的一个议题。正在角逐共和党总统候选人提名的古巴裔参议员马可•卢比奥(Marco Rubio)上周表示，美国需要对中国采取更强硬的姿态，包括在南中国海。

“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.”

“围绕一艘船舶悬挂哪一国的旗子、或者我们批评领土扩张是否适当的辩论已经过时了，”他对美国外交关系委员会(Council on Foreign Relations)表示。“在本世纪，企业必须拥有在世界各地放心经营的自由。”

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.

美国副国务卿安东尼•布林肯(Antony Blinken)周三在印尼发表讲话时表示，中国在南中国海采取的行动，正给商业活动制造更加不稳定的环境。

“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.

“随着中国力图从沙堡中制造出主权，并重新绘制海洋边界，它正在侵蚀地区信任，破坏投资者的信心，”路透社援引布林肯的话称。