中国将派军舰参加在美国夏威夷举行的环太军演

China on last Thursday confirmed it would send warships to join a major United States-hosted naval drill later this year, even as tension between the world's two largest economies mounts over the South China Sea.

尽管中国和美国作为全球最大的两个经济体就南海问题使得关系趋于紧张，但上周四，中国确认将派遣军舰参加今年晚些时候由美国主导的海军演习。

The Rim of the Pacific exercise, known as Rimpac, is billed as the world's largest international maritime exercise, held every two years in Hawaii in June and July.

"环太平洋军事演习"简称"环太军演"，是当今世界最大的国际海上军演，每两年于六七月份的夏威夷举行一次。

Critics of the Obama administration, including US Senator John McCain, have said the US should bar China from the drills to show US disapproval of its military actions.

包括参议员约翰·麦凯恩在内的反对者对奥巴马政府此举提出批评，认为美国应当将中国排除在军演之外，以表达对中国军事行动的不满。

"Joining these military exercises will be beneficial to improving the Chinese navy's ability to contend with non-traditional security threats. At the same time, it will also be beneficial to deepending China and professional exchanges and pragmatic cooperations with the relevant countries' navies." Wu Qian, a spokesman of China's Ministry of Defence, told a regular briefing.

中国国防部发言人吴谦在例行记者会上表示："参与这类军演将有利于增强中国海军在应对非传统安全威胁时的能力。与此同时，还能深化中国同邻国海军的专业交流和务实合作。"

China would send warships to participate, Wu said, but did not say how many or what kind. "Needless to say, military relations between China and the US have some difficulties and obstacles," Wu added.

吴谦表示。中国将派遣军舰参与演习，但并没有透露军舰的数量和型号。吴谦还补充说道："毋庸置疑，中美军事关系存在一些困难和阻碍。"

US Admiral Harry Harris, chief of the US Pacific Command, has said he wants to build ties between the two militaries of the countries, but has also strongly criticised China's actions in the South China Sea.

美国太平洋司令部司令员、海军上将哈里·哈里斯表示，他希望能够加强两国的军事交流，但同时强烈指责了中国在南海的军事行动。

China took part in the Rimpac exercises in 2014 with more than 20 countries, but defence officials have said its participation was limited to areas such as humanitarian relief and search and rescue operations.

中国在2014年参加了"环太军演"，当时有超过20个国家参与，但国防部官员表示，当时中国参与的任务只限于人道主义救援和联合搜救。