美国不应无条件支持安倍

When Shinzo Abe begins his week-long tour of the US today, Washington will treat him as a friend. As well as being welcomed by President Barack Obama at a state dinner, Japan’s prime minister will address a joint session of Congress.

安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)今日对美国展开为期一周的访问之际，华盛顿将把他当作朋友。除了得到美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)的国宴款待外，这位日本首相还将在美国国会参众两院联席会议上发表演讲。

In spite of reservations in Washington about Mr Abe’s nationalist tendencies, for the most part the US applauds him as the most coherent leader Japan has had in a generation. Not only has he launched Abenomics, a plan to revive the economy that still hangs tantalisingly in the balance. He is also putting his country on the path to a more robust defence policy, something Washington has been urging on a reluctant Tokyo for decades.

尽管华盛顿对安倍的民族主义倾向有所保留，但从总体上说，美方赞赏他是日本一代人以来思路最连贯的领导人。他不仅推出了安倍经济学（Abenomics，一套重振日本经济的计划，其成败仍然难以看清，吊足了众人的胃口），还让日本走上迈向更强大国防政策的道路（这是华盛顿方面敦促了几十年、而东京方面此前一直不情愿做的事情）。

This show of goodwill is the right approach. For all his flaws, Mr Abe is on balance a good thing for a country that has drifted too long under a succession of fleeting, nondescript leaders. Yet Washington should not back him under all circumstances. That is especially true when it comes to relations with China. Above all, Washington must not give the impression that it wants to use Japan as a tool of containment. If it looks as though the US and Japan are ganging up on China, Beijing is likely to conclude that there is no peaceful path to its legitimate ambitions. The debacle over the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank — boycotted by both Washington and Tokyo — is a case in point.

热情接待是正确的做法。尽管安倍有种种缺点，但是总的来说，他担任首相对日本是件好事；这个国家在一连串任期短暂且平平淡淡的领导人治下蹉跎了太久。然而，华盛顿不应在任何情况下都支持安倍，尤其是在对华关系问题上。最重要的是，华盛顿不要给别人留下它想把日本用作一件遏制工具的印象。如果美国和日本看上去是在联手对付中国，北京方面很可能得出这样的结论，即没有和平的路径可以实现中国的正当抱负。在中国发起的亚洲基础设施投资银行（Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank，简称：亚投行）这件事上受挫（美日均予以抵制），就是一个很好的例子。

During Mr Abe’s visit, the joint attitudes of Japan and the US towards China will be tested in three broad arenas. The first is history. In his speech to Congress, Mr Abe will reflect on Japan’s actions in the second world war, which ended 70 years ago. Mr Abe is among those on the Japanese right who think the country has apologised enough. He has hinted that he wants to drop language used in previous apologies referring to “colonial rule”, “aggression” and “remorse”. Any manifestation of “Abenesia” would be a big mistake. Of course it is galling for Japan to be lectured by China, which has whitewashed much of its modern history, on the importance of historical accuracy. But as the aggressor in the second world war, Japan does not have the luxury to decide when the apologies end. If Mr Abe is to persuade the world that Japan can be trusted as a “normal” nation, he should bite his lip and repeat the old formula.

安倍访美期间，日美两国对中国的态度将在三大领域受到考验。首先是历史。在对美国国会发表的演讲中，安倍将反思日本在70年前结束的第二次世界大战中的行为。安倍所属的日本右翼认为，日本已经进行了足够的道歉。安倍已暗示，他想摒弃日本官方以前道歉时所提的“殖民统治”、“侵略”和“懊悔”。这种“安倍健忘症”(Abenesia)的任何表现都将是一个巨大错误。当然，在真实还原历史的重要性这个问题上，日本难免对粉饰了本国很大一部分近代史的中国的说教不服气。但是，身为二战中的侵略者，决定道歉什么时候可以结束的特权不在日本手里。如果安倍要说服世界相信日本是可以信任的“正常”国家，那么他就应该咬住嘴唇、重复以往的道歉措辞。

Second, and related, is defence. Mr Abe wants to reinterpret Japan’s pacifist constitution to give Tokyo more leeway to participate in international affairs. The Pentagon wholly supports this. So do some of Japan’s neighbours that are worried about growing Chinese military power. This week, the US and Japan will issue new guidelines for defence co-operation designed to bring contingency planning up to date. There is no harm in this so long as it does not look like an anti-Chinese pact.

其次是相关的国防领域。安倍希望重新解释日本的和平宪法，使日本在参与国际事务方面有更大的回旋余地。五角大楼完全支持这一点。担心中国军力日益增强的一些日本的邻国也暗中叫好。本周，美国和日本将发布新的防卫合作指针，旨在更新应急规划。这么做没有危害——只要它看起来不像是一个反华协定。

There is ample room for China to be involved in regional military efforts, for example in emergency planning for natural disasters.

有足够空间让中国参与地区军事行动，例如针对自然灾害的紧急规划。

Finally, there is trade. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade agreement that does not include China, received a fillip when a Senate panel approved a bill that would give Mr Obama the “fast-track” negotiating authority he needs. Again, TPP is fine so far is it goes. Yet it must be made clear that this is a trade agreement, not a geopolitical one in disguise. Beijing should be encouraged to join as soon as feasible. That would integrate China more closely into a rules-based system of the sort that Washington is continually advocating.

最后是贸易领域。《跨太平洋伙伴关系》（Trans-Pacific Partnership，简称TPP）——不包括中国的12国贸易协定——近日获得推动，因为美国参议院的一个委员会批准了授予奥巴马其所需的“快车道”谈判权力的法案。同样，TPP就事论事是好的。然而，必须明确的是，这是一个贸易协定，而不是伪装的地缘政治协定。应当鼓励中国一旦具备条件就尽早加入。这将让中国更紧密地融入美国始终不渝推崇的一个基于规则的体系。

During Mr Abe’s visit, the subtext should be that both the US and Japan want to draw China into the international community — not shut it out.

安倍访美期间，潜台词应该是美日两国都希望争取中国融入国际社会，而不是将其拒之门外。