中越恢复两军关系 同意控制海上纠纷

China and Vietnam have agreed to resume military ties and curb their maritime dispute, according to Beijing’s official Xinhua News Agency.

据官方的新华社报道，中国和越南已经同意恢复军事关系，并控制住两国的海上纠纷。

The two communist neighbours had been in a maritime face-off since July, when China placed an oil rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

此前这两个相邻的共产党国家自7月以来处于海上对峙，起因是中国在南中国海争议海域部署了一个石油钻井平台。

However, relations have reportedly been soothed this weekend by the visit to Beijing of a high-level Vietnamese military delegation.

然而，在越南一个高级军事代表团在刚刚过去的周末访问北京后，双边关系据报道已经平静下来。

“We should make our troops well-behaved, and not make remarks harming the feelings of both people or do things undermining the overall bilateral relations,” Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of China’s powerful Central Military Commission, said in remarks carried by Xinhua.

新华社引述中国中央军委副主席范长龙的话称，中越应当“管控好部队，不说伤害两国人民感情的话，不做影响两国关系大局的事。”

The three-month showdown, during which Chinese boats rammed Vietnamese ships, was the most serious in a series of confrontations between China and its maritime neighbours.

中国船只曾在持续三个月的海上对峙期间撞击越方船只，这场对峙是中国与海上邻国之间一连串对抗中最严重的。

It sparked violent demonstrations against Taiwanese factories and Chinese worksites in Vietnam, in which five people died.

它在越南引发针对台资工厂和中资项目工地的暴力示威，导致5人死亡。

The military meetings in Beijing this weekend were important “because they indicate that both China and Vietnam acknowledge that an accident or miscalculation between their armed forces could get out of control”, wrote Carl Thayer, professor emeritus with the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy, who closely follows events in the South China Sea.

澳大利亚国防学院(Australian Defence Force Academy)南海问题专家、新南威尔士大学(University of New South Wales)名誉退休教授卡尔•泰尔(Carl Thayer)写道，周末在北京举行的两军会晤是重要的，“因为它们表明，中国和越南都承认，两国军队之间发生意外或误判可能导致局面失控”。

“Both sides appear willing to reach an understanding on how to respond to incidents to prevent their escalation.”

“双方似乎都愿意就如何对事件做出回应、以防止其升级达成谅解。”

Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan have drawn closer together diplomatically as China becomes more assertive in its territorial claims in waters rich in oil and fish.

随着中国在拥有丰富石油和渔业资源海域的领土主张上变得更加强硬，越南、菲律宾和日本已经在外交上走得更近。

Nonetheless, China’s strategy seems to be working. It has reinforced military bases on the islets in the South China Sea on which it bases its claims to the surrounding waters, while stepping back from each individual confrontation before its neighbours can cobble together a unified diplomatic response.

尽管如此，中国的战略似乎奏效。它在南中国海的小岛加强了军事基地，这些小岛是中国声索周围海域主权的依据；同时在邻国能够协调做出统一的外交回应之前在相关对峙中后退一步。

In this case, China has mended its fences before it hosts regional heads of state at the Asia Pacific Economic Forum near Beijing. The withdrawal of the contentious rig came shortly before a regional defence meeting in August.

这一次，中国于在北京附近举行亚太经济合作论坛（Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum，简称APEC）、迎接区域各国元首前夕修补了关系。8月份一次地区防务会议之前不久，中国撤走了有争议的石油钻井平台。