日本新法案寻求扩大海上保安厅权力
When the vessel carrying 14 Hong Kong activists cruised into territorial waters toward the contested islands Wednesday, Japan was ready for them thanks to the media blitz announcing their arrival. Authorities had loaded up 10 of its coast guard ships with police officers. The activists' island adventure on one of the disputed islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, lasted less than half an hour before they were arrested by Japanese police.
由于此前媒体对香港保钓人士登岛行动的大肆报道，当载有14名香港活动人士的船只周三进入中日争议岛屿附近海域时，日方早已严阵以待多时了。日方准备了10艘载有大量警察的海上保安厅船只。香港活动人士在其中一个岛屿上的“探险活动”仅持续了不到半小时，他们就被日本警方逮捕了。上述争议岛屿日本称为“尖阁列岛”(Senkaku)，中国称为“钓鱼岛”。Though Japan was prepared this time around, typically, not every coast guard patrol boat has a police officer on deck, which effects the speed with which maritime violators are handled.
尽管这次日本有所准备，但通常情况下，并非每艘海上保安厅的巡逻船都配有警察。船上是否配有警察会影响到处理海上违法者的速度。For starters, the coast guard isn't allowed to make arrests. They have to wait for the police to arrive, a considerable time sink given the distance to the remote islands.
首先，海上保安厅无权对违法者实施逮捕。他们必须等警察来，鉴于警察驻地距事发岛屿往往很远，警察需要相当长的时间才能赶到现场。
But a new bill that passed in Japan's lower house last week could beef up the coast guard's powers so they can make arrests even when they don't get the luxury of a heads up. The upper house still needs to approve the bill before it is enacted.
不过，上周日本众议院通过的一项新法案可能扩大海上保安厅的权力，让他们能够在没有警察参与的情况下也能够实施逮捕。法案要想成为法律还需获得国会参议院的批准。The revisions to the country's maritime laws would strengthen the coast guard's ability to guard and patrol the islands in its vast territorial waters amid increased sightings of Chinese boats. The bill's proposal was prompted by the 2010 collision between a Chinese fishing vessel and two Japanese coast guard patrol boats that sparked the hottest diplomatic tiff in recent years, according to an official at the Japan Coast Guard's legal department.
在中国船只越来越多地出现在争议海域之际，日本海事法的修订将增强海上保安厅对广阔领海中的岛屿进行保卫及巡逻的能力。据日本海上保安厅法律部门的一位官员说，提出这项法案的起因是2010年一艘中国渔船与两艘日本海上保安厅巡逻船相撞的事件。当时此事引发了近几年来中日之间最激烈的一场外交争端。Since the controversy, the coast guard has stepped up its manned air and sea patrols of the country's EEZ, which extend for more than 203 miles from tiny islets claimed by Japan that are up to 1,243 miles south of Tokyo.
自撞船事件以来，海上保安厅一直在增派巡逻人员，加强对日本专署经济区的海上和空中巡逻。在那些日本宣称拥有主权的小岛，其周边逾203英里（约合325公里）范围内的海域都是日本的专属经济区，日本声称拥有主权的最远小岛位于东京以南1,243英里（约合1,989公里）。The biggest change would give the coast guard the authority to deal with crime - such as illegal entry or vandalism - on isolated islands in the absence of police officers. Under current law, the Japan coast guard have to stand by until the police arrive.
修订后的法律最大的变化将是给予海上保安厅处理刑事案件的权力，使他们有权在警察不在场的情况下在远离日本本土的小岛上处理犯罪行为（比如非法入境和破坏公物）。根据现行法律，在警察到来之前，日本海上保安厅的人员只能等在一边。That's what happened back in 2004 - the last time Chinese protesters successfully landed on the island. The activists enjoyed the craggy beaches for a whole day before they were arrested even though the coast guard had spotted the activists before they landed in the early morning hours. Besides telling them to leave the coast guard lacked the authority to do little else. The police arrived by helicopter in the late afternoon.
2004年中国抗议者上次成功登上钓鱼岛时，日本海上保安厅就是这么做的。当时，尽管海上保安厅早在活动人士凌晨登岛之前就已经发现了他们，但活动人士仍在峭壁林立的海滩上呆了一整天后才被逮捕。海上保安厅除告诉他们离开之外，无权做任何事。直到傍晚警察才乘直升机赶到现场。The bill would also give the coast guard another means to prevent the landings. It would be allowed to order intruding vessels to leave its territorial waters without having to first inspect the boats, which can be tricky if multiple vessels enter Japan's space at the same time.
新法案还将使海上保安厅可以通过另外一种方法防止活动人士登岛。海上保安厅将获准不必对闯入日本领海的船只先行检查即可下令其离开。如果多艘船只同时进入日本海域，对船只进行检查将很难。Still, the legislation doesn't address how it might fix one major blooper from Wednesday's incident: How the one small Hong Kong fishing boat was able to maneuver past 10 Japan Coast Guard ships, which were launching water bombs, to land on the disputed island.
尽管如此，这项法案未触及如何解决周三事件中暴露出来的一个主要问题：一艘小小的香港渔船如何能够成功突破10艘发射着水弹的海上保安厅船只的围堵，让保钓人士成功登上争议岛屿。
