中美防长要就南海问题进行会晤

Ashton Carter, the US defence secretary, told Chang Wanquan, his Chinese counterpart, yesterday that the US would continue to conduct naval operations in the South China Sea, which Beijing considers to be “illegal”.

美国国防部长阿什顿愠祓(Ashton Carter)昨日告诉中国国防部长常万全，美国海军将继续在南中国海执行任务——这些行动被中国政府认为是“非法的”。

During a meeting that US officials described as “cordial”, Gen Chang told Mr Carter that China would defend what it considers to be sovereign territory and had a “bottom line” when it came to US missions in the South China Sea.

在被美国官员形容为“坦诚”的会晤期间，常万全上将向卡特表示，中国会保卫它认为拥有主权的领土，在美国在南中国海的军事行动的问题上，中国是有“底线”的。

The differences were aired when the defence leaders met for the first time on the fringe of a South East Asian summit in Malaysia. Their conversation came a week after a US destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island in the South China Sea that is claimed by China and where it is building an airfield that could have military use.

两位国防部长在马来西亚一次东南亚峰会的间隙首次会晤，交换了上述不同意见。在他们对话一周前，一艘美国驱逐舰驶入了南中国海一座人造岛周边12海里水域内。中国声称拥有该岛的主权，并正在岛上修建一座可能具有军事用途的机场。

The US Navy says the mission, which it insists was a “freedom of navigation operation”, was not designed to challenge China’s land claims in the South China Sea, where five other countries also contest many of the islands and land features. The US says it wanted to show that artificial islands, such as the reclaimed land at Subi Reef where the USS Lassen sailed, do not confer rights to the seas surrounding them.

美国海军坚称这是一次“航行自由行动”，不是为了挑战中国在南中国海的领土声索。除了中国，还有五个国家宣称对南中国海的许多岛屿和地物拥有主权。美国表示，它想表明，人造岛——比如中国在渚碧礁(Subi Reef)填海造出的岛——并不会给造岛方带来岛屿周边海域的任何权利。美国拉森号(USS Lassen)驱逐舰驶近的就是渚碧礁。

Behind the sparring over international law is a broader contest between the US and China in the western Pacific. China’s ambitious programme of land reclamation in the South China Sea is one element of a strategy slowly to shift the balance of power in a region that the US Navy has dominated for 70 years.

在这场围绕国际法展开的争吵背后，是美中在西太平洋上演的一场全面较量。中国雄心勃勃的南中国海填海造岛计划，是它缓慢改变西太平洋力量对比的战略的一部分。美国海军主宰西太平洋已有70年。

Describing the brief conversation between the defence ministers, the senior US official said Mr Carter “reaffirmed that the US will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows” and had insisted that “the South China Sea would not be an exception”.

在评述两位国防长的简短对话时，上述美国高官表示卡特“重申美国将继续在国际法允许的任何地方飞行、航行和开展行动”，并坚称“南中国海不会成为一个例外”。

Gen Chang argued the Chinese build-up in the South China Sea was largely to help other countries in the region, including with humanitarian assistance. However, according to a US official, he told Mr Carter: “We need to do things that help us defend our sovereign territory, and I need to be very clear to you that there is a bottom line to this.”

常万全辩称，中国在南中国海的建设行为在很大程度上是为了帮助该地区其他国家，包括提供人道主义援助。然而，根据一位美国官员的说法，他告诉卡特：“我们必须做些事情帮助我们保卫我们的主权领土。我必须明确告诉您，在这个问题上我们是有底线的。”

Gen Chang gave no details of what that “bottom line” would entail, the US official added.

这名美国官员补充说，常万全并未说明这一“底线”的具体涵义。

Earlier, Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, told an audience in China that the US would continue to conduct “routine” operations in the South China Sea, even as he called for closer ties between the American and Chinese militaries. US naval operations near territory claimed by China were not “a threat to any nation” but were to defend freedom of navigation in international waters, Adml Harris insisted.

更早一些时候，美国太平洋司令部(United States Pacific Command，代号USPACOM)司令、海军上将哈里哈里斯(Admiral Harry Harris)在中国向一群中国听众表示，美国将继续在南中国海展开“例行”行动。哈里斯上将坚称，美国海军在靠近中国宣称拥有主权的地方展开的行动“不对任何国家构成威胁”，而是为了捍卫国际水域的航行自由。

“We are making it clear that... military will continue to fly, sail and operate whenever and wherever international law allows,” he said in a speech at Peking University’s Stanford Center. “The South China Sea is not — and will not be — an exception.”

“我们明确指出……美军将继续在国际法允许的任何时间和任何地方飞行、航行和开展行动，”他在北京大学斯坦福中心发表讲话时表示，“南中国海现在不是例外，将来也不会是。”

Although Adml Harris, who earlier this year accused China of trying to create a “great wall of sand” in the South China Sea, issued a strong defence of the US operation last week, his remarks in Beijing were relatively restrained. He said it was important to have “personal and candid conversations”.

今年早些时候，哈里斯曾指责中国企图在南中国海构筑一道“沙长城”。尽管哈里斯上周对美方的行动作出了强势辩护，但他在北京发表的讲话相对克制。他表示，美中进行“面对面的坦诚对话”很重要。