日美簽署最新防衛合作指針

The US and Japan signed a new set of defence agreements yesterday that allow for greater co-operation between their military forces at a time of rising Chinese influence in Asia.

美國和日本昨日簽署了一套新的防務協議，使兩國軍隊在中國在亞洲的影響力不斷加大之際能夠加強合作。

Part of a broader push by Japan to shed some of the restrictions of its postwar formal pacifism, the new guidelines would allow the US and Japanese militaries to work more closely together in the event of a conflict in the East China Sea or in North Korea.

新的《日美防衛合作指針》(Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation)是日本整體努力的一部分，目的是擺脫戰後正式和平主義的某些約束。新《指針》將讓美日兩軍在東中國海或朝鮮發生衝突的情況下更緊密地合作。

For the Obama administration, the improved defence ties with Japan are an important part of its “pivot” to Asia which has also seen the US expand military co-operation with allies such as Australia and the Philippines and former enemies such as Vietnam.

對奧巴馬(Obama)政府來說，與日本改善防務關係是美國重返亞洲的重要組成部分。在這一戰略的指引下，美國還與澳大利亞和菲律賓等傳統盟友、以及越南等昔日敵人擴大了軍事合作。

While the administration insists that its approach to the region does not represent an effort to contain China, the thread that ties together all these different initiatives is the growing anxiety across Asia about how to deal with a more powerful China.

雖然奧巴馬政府堅稱，其在亞太地區的姿態並不代表遏制中國的努力，但是，把所有這些舉措串接起來的主線，正是亞洲各國在如何與更強大的中國打交道的問題上愈演愈烈的焦慮。

The new guidelines were released at the start of an official visit to the US by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

新《指針》是在日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)開始對美國展開正式訪問之際發佈的。

The focal point of his week-long trip will be a speech to both houses of Congress tomorrow, the first by a Japanese premier, where every word from the conservative nationalist Mr Abe about Japan’s behaviour in the second world war will be closely parsed, especially by China and South Korea. He will also meet President Barack Obama at the White House today, when they are likely to present an upbeat outlook for prospects for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-country trade agreement that is reaching a crunch point in negotiations.

在安倍爲期一週的訪美行程中，焦點將是明日他在美國國會參衆兩院聯席會議上發表的演講，這將是日本首相首次獲得這樣的禮遇。身爲保守的民族主義者，安倍在提到日本在第二次世界大戰中的行爲時，所說的每一個字都將受到仔細分析，尤其是受到中國和韓國的仔細分析。今日他將在白宮會晤美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)，屆時兩人很可能對《跨太平洋夥伴關係》（Trans-Pacific Partnership，簡稱TPP）的前景發表樂觀看法。TPP是12個國家之間的貿易協定，目前談判正處於關鍵階段。

Jim Schoff, a former Pentagon official and Japan specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in Washington DC, said the new defence guidelines would be the most lasting legacy of Mr Abe’s trip to the US, despite the focus on the way he addresses historical issues in his speech to Congress.

前五角大樓官員、目前是華盛頓卡內基國際和平基金會(Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)日本問題專家的吉姆•肖夫(Jim Schoff)表示，新《指針》將是安倍此次訪美之行最持久的成果，儘管目前各方關注的焦點在於他在美國國會發表的演講中如何面對歷史問題。

“This could be a major change in how the alliance functions,” Mr Schoff said. “The US is hoping to get Japan more deeply involved in international missions and Japan wants to bolster alliance integration as a way of increasing deterrence against China.”

“這可能代表着（美日）同盟的功能發生重大變化，”肖夫表示，“美國希望讓日本更深入地參與國際行動，而日本希望加強同盟一體化，作爲加大對中國威懾的一種方式。”

The main thrust of the new defence guidelines, which call for “seamless and robust” responses to events in the Asia-Pacific, is to allow for significantly increased co-operation between American and Japanese forces which had been limited by Japan’s own self-defence doctrines.

新《指針》呼籲對亞太地區的事件做出“無縫和有力的”迴應。其主旨是讓美日兩軍大幅加強合作，此前這種合作受到日本自衛原則的限制。

A high priority will be planning for how to respond to incidents involving their navies in the East China Sea, where Japan and China have a territorial dispute, but also to work more closely together on intelligence, humanitarian relief, missile defence and in cyber and space. The two countries’ militaries will establish a permanent co-ordinating mechanism to respond to crises.

優先任務將是規劃如何應對在東中國海（日中兩國在東中國海有領土爭端）發生的涉及美日海軍的事件，並在情報、人道主義救援、導彈防禦乃至網絡和太空等領域展開更緊密合作。美日兩國軍隊將建立一個永久性的協調機制，以應對危機。

The US and Japan established defence guidelines in 1978, at the height of the Cold War, and in 1997, when China’s military build-up was still in its infancy. The new guidelines are the first to reflect China’s greater military heft and push for influence in the region.

美國和日本在1978年訂立《日美防衛合作指針》，當時正是冷戰高峯時期。兩國在1997年曾經更新《指針》，當時中國的軍備建設仍處於起步階段。最新版《指針》首次反映了中國更強大的軍事實力和爭取地區影響力的努力。

The statement from the two governments reaffirms that the US believes the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by both Japan and China (which calls them the Diaoyu), are covered by the US-Japan security treaty.

美日兩國政府在聲明中重申，美國認爲尖閣諸島(Senkaku Islands)——日本和中國都聲稱擁有其主權，中國稱其爲釣魚島及其附屬島嶼——適用《美日安保條約》(US-Japan security treaty)。

It also notes the already stepped-up US military presence at bases in Japan, including the deployment of Global Hawk drones, P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and ships equipped with the Aegis missile defence system.

聲明還指出，美軍已經在駐日基地加強軍事存在，包括部署全球鷹(Global Hawk)無人機、P-8海神(Poseidon)海上巡邏機、以及配備宙斯盾導彈防禦系統(Aegis missile defence system)的軍艦。