中国指责越南骚扰中方钻井平台

Beijing has accused Hanoi of “harassing” a Chinese oil rig towed into disputed waters in the South China Sea, claiming that Vietnamese vessels had “interfered” with Chinese ships 171 times since a stand-off began last Saturday.

中国指责越南骚扰一台被拖往南中国海争议海域的中国石油钻井平台，表示越方船只在这场始于上周六的对峙中171次“干扰”中方船舶。

Earlier, the US waded into the dispute , calling China’s deployment of the rig “provocative” after Vietnam said Chinese ships had rammed its vessels, injuring several sailors.

此前，越南指责中国船只撞击越南船只，导致多名水手受伤，美国随后介入这场纠纷，称中国部署钻井平台的行为是“挑衅性的”。

The stand-off, which involves dozens of ships from the two nations, is the latest flare-up as China gradually stakes out its claim to nearly all the waters of the South China Sea, most of which are also claimed by other neighbouring nations. China’s third-largest oil company Cnooc placed the rig about 150 nautical miles from the Vietnamese coast.

涉及两国数十艘船舶的这场对峙，是中国逐渐声索其对几乎整个南中国海主权主张的最新升级事件。邻近国家也对南海大部分海域有主权主张。中国第三大石油公司中海油(Cnooc)将这一钻井平台部署在距离越南海岸约150海里的海上。

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China ratified in 1996, recognises an exclusive economic zone extending up to 200 miles from each nation’s coast. But China’s “nine-dash line”, also known as the “cow’s tongue”, hugs the coasts of several southeast Asian nations bordering the sea, and has caused friction in the region.

按照《联合国海洋法公约》(UNCLOS)，每个濒海国家都有一个专属经济区，其范围从该国的海岸线向外延伸至多200海里。中国在1996年签署这一公约。但中国的“九段线”，也被称为“牛舌线”，紧贴几个环绕南海的东南亚国家的海岸，并已在该地区引发摩擦。

The jousting in the South China Sea follows President Barack Obama’s visit to Asia, during which he signed a defence pact with the Philippines allowing Washington to base ships and aircraft there. While in Tokyo, Mr Obama also declared that the US considered disputed islands in the East China Sea to fall under its military alliance with Japan – a longstanding American position but the first time that a US president had stated it publicly.

南中国海发生最新冲突之前，美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)在访问亚洲期间与菲律宾签署了一份防务协议，允许美军在菲律宾部署舰船和飞机。奥巴马在访问日本期间还宣示，美国认为东中国海争议岛屿适用美日军事同盟——这是美国的长期立场，但这是美国总统首次公开声明这一立场。

Chinese military strategists worry that the US is trying to encircle or contain it, and argue that the country needs to develop a stronger naval force in response.

中国的军事战略家担心美国正试图包围或遏制中国，他们辩称，中国需要发展更强大的海军力量作为回应。

Beijing bases its rights to the South China Sea on its claims to the Paracel Islands, a group of reefs and islets in the middle of the sea that it has occupied since a naval clash with Vietnam in 1974. The rig is located 17 nautical miles from Triton Island, said Yi Xianliang, the deputy director-general of the department of boundary and ocean affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

北京方面对南中国海的主权主张基于其对西沙群岛(Paracel Islands)的领土主张；中国在1974年与当时的南越打了一场海战后占领了这些位于南海中央的岛礁和小岛。中国外交部边界与海洋事务司副司长易先良表示，中方的钻井平台距离中建岛(Triton Island)仅17海里。

“We are willing to negotiate with Vietnam, but they must stop their harassment and withdraw their fleet. I believe that under these preconditions we can sort out the issue,” Mr Yi said at a hastily called press conference in which not a single Chinese media organisation raised a question.

易先良在一场匆忙召集的新闻发布会（其间没有一家中国媒体集团提出任何问题）上表示，中国愿意与越南进行谈判，但越方必须停止骚扰，撤回该国的船队。中国相信，在满足这些前提条件后，双方可以解决问题。

He refused to specify how many Chinese ships were in the area, or to confirm a Vietnamese estimate that China has deployed 80 ships to Vietnam’s 30.

他拒绝说明相关海域有多少中国船舶，并拒绝证实越方的一个估计数字；越南称，中国出动了80艘船，而越南只有30艘。

Tensions over the South China Sea also stem from its status as a rich fishing ground and home to extensive oil and gas deposits.

南中国海的局势之所以紧张，也是因为它是一个丰饶的渔场，并拥有丰富的石油和天然气储量。

Cnooc 981, China’s first self-developed deep-sea drilling platform, is operated by COSL, an oil services subsidiary of Cnooc. The $832m rig was commissioned in China two years ago and began operations in an eastern portion of the South China Sea.

“海洋石油981”是中国第一台自主研制的深海钻井平台，其作业方是中海油的油田服务子公司——中海油田服务股份有限公司(COSL)。这台造价8.32亿美元的钻井平台是两年前在中国启用的，在南中国海东部开始作业。

Li Yong, the chief executive of COSL, said he did not know what oil block the rig was currently working on. He was also unable to give the number of COSL employees on the rig.

中海油服首席执行官李勇表示，他不知道该钻井平台目前在哪一个区块作业。他也无法提供在平台上工作的中海油服雇员人数。