波罗的海俄潜艇传闻引发地区紧张
Sweden’s hunt for a foreign submarine – presumed to be Russian – entered its fourth day in a chase outside Stockholm that has evoked memories of the cold war and further heightened tensions in the Baltic sea.
瑞典对外国潜艇的搜索进入第四天，这一对斯德哥尔摩外围的搜寻行动引发了人们对冷战的记忆，进一步加剧了波罗的海的紧张局势。
Sweden’s armed forces on Sunday released a picture of what is believed to be the submarine and said there had been three sightings of it, two on Friday and one on Sunday, as it appeared to move south.
周日，瑞典军方披露了一张据信是潜艇的照片，并表示曾有三次发现这艘潜艇，其中两次是在周五，还有一次是在周日。依据照片显示，这艘潜艇似乎在向南移动。The operation, involving hundreds of military personnel in minesweepers, helicopters, boats and aircraft, has sparked flashbacks to a series of hunts of Soviet submarines in the 1980s, most notably when one ran aground off the southern Swedish town of Karlskrona.
这次军事行动中，瑞典出动了多艘扫雷舰、直升机、其他类型舰艇和飞机，参与的军方人员达数百名。这令人感觉仿佛是上世纪80年代对苏联潜艇的一系列搜寻活动再次出现。当时最著名的是一艘苏联潜艇曾搁浅在瑞典南部城镇卡尔斯克鲁纳。
Concern is growing across the Baltic area about Russia’s intentions after numerous incidents, from incursions into the airspace of Sweden and Finland – the only countries in the region aside from Russia not in Nato – to the abduction of an Estonian intelligence agent.
此前，俄罗斯还曾侵犯过瑞典和芬兰两国（这两国是波罗的海除俄罗斯以外仅有的两个非北约(Nato)国家）领空，并曾绑架过爱沙尼亚的情报人员。在经历这一系列事件之后，人们对波罗的海安全局势的担忧与日俱增。The drama began on Friday when Sweden’s military said a credible source had informed it of “foreign underwater activity” in the large archipelago outside Stockholm. The armed forces have refused to comment on the nationality of the craft they are seeking, which could be a mini-submarine, underwater vessel or full-sized submarine.
这一戏剧性的事件始于上周五。当时，瑞典军方曾表示，可靠情报来源显示，斯德哥尔摩郊外的大规模群岛中存在“外国舰艇的水下活动”。瑞典军方搜寻的这艘舰艇可能是微型潜艇、水下船只或全尺寸潜艇，但他们对舰艇的国籍拒绝置评。But Svenska Dagbladet, a Swedish newspaper that last year revealed that Russia had simulated a bombing raid on Stockholm, said on Saturday that intelligence officials had picked up a distress call on a frequency used by Russians.
不过，《瑞典日报》(Svenska Dagbladet)周六表示，情报官员用俄罗斯人常用的频率截听到了求救信号。去年《瑞典日报》曾披露，俄罗斯曾演练过针对斯德哥尔摩的空袭。This led to speculation that a damaged Russian submarine was somewhere in Swedish waters, further fuelled by the sighting of a Russian oil tanker in international waters off Stockholm that could be used in a rescue, according to defence experts.
该报道令人不禁猜测，有一艘损坏的俄罗斯潜艇正潜伏在瑞典海域的某处，斯德哥尔摩附近公海海域出现的一个俄罗斯油箱又加深了这一猜测。根据防务专家的说法，这只油箱是营救行动中可能会用到的。Russia’s defence ministry on Sunday denied that any of its submarines were in an emergency or irregular situation anywhere in the world.
周日，俄罗斯国防部否认了这种说法，称俄罗斯没有任何潜艇处于紧急状态或位于全球非常规地区。But later the Swedish armed forces said it was “probable” that there was foreign submarine activity in the archipelago, the highest risk assessment except verification.
不过，瑞典军方随后表示，波罗的海群岛水域“很可能”存在外国潜艇活动，这是仅次于“确认”的最高风险评级。The hunt for the submarine provides an early test for Sweden’s new centre-left government, which is more hostile to the idea of Nato membership than its centre-right ern has been raised over the ability of the Swedish armed forces to defend the country for more than a few days, especially the strategically important island of Gotland in the Baltic.
瑞典此次军事行动受到该地区广泛关注。拉脱维亚外交部长埃德加斯•林克维奇斯(Edgars Rinkevics)周末曾在Twitter上发消息称：“密切关注瑞典领海的事件，它们很可能改变整个波罗的海地区安全事务的游戏规则。”
