美國在南中國海問題上態度轉硬
The administration of Barack Obama has significantly sharpened its rhetoric about China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea in the last week amid growing pressure from allies in the region for the US to take a firmer line.
巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)政府過去一週對中國在南中國海的領土主張顯著提高了分貝，原因是該地區的盟友對美國施加越來越大的壓力，要求美國採取更堅定的立場。In public statements in recent days, senior US officials placed the blame for tensions in the region solely on China and warned that the US could move more forces to the western Pacific if Beijing were to declare a new air defence zone in the South China Sea.
在最近一些日子發表的公開聲明中，美國政府高級官員將南中國海緊張局勢完全歸咎於中國，並警告稱，如果北京方面在南中國海劃設一個新的防空識別區，美國可能將更多部隊部署到西太平洋。Although Mr Obama is due to visit the region in April, several Asia governments have complained privately that the administration has become distracted in the Middle East and has left the way open for China to pursue its claims with greater confidence.
雖然奧巴馬定於4月訪問亞洲，但幾個亞洲國家的政府私下抱怨稱，奧巴馬政府被中東事務搞得分心，聽任中國以更大信心追求自己的主張。
“They [the administration] are definitely trying to turn up the volume about China,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “This is as close as the Obama administration has come to saying that the nine-dash line is illegal. It is quite significant because they previously danced around the issue.” The nine-dash line is a map produced by China that appears to claim that the bulk of the South China Sea is under Chinese control.
“他們（指奧巴馬政府）肯定在試圖調高有關中國的音量，”華盛頓國際戰略研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies)中國問題專家葛萊儀(Bonnie Glaser)表示。“這是奧巴馬政府在儘可能明確地說，‘九段線’是非法的。這個表態意義重大，因爲以往他們在這個問題上閃爍其詞。”中國出版的地圖上的“九段線”似乎把南中國海大部分區域劃入了中國版圖。China is involved in a series of tense territorial disputes in the East China Sea with Japan and in the South China Sea with Vietnam and the Philippines. The US, along with several governments in the region, believes that China is pushing these claims as part of a broader strategy to exert greater control over large areas of the western Pacific.
中國與鄰國之間存在一系列緊張的領土爭端，包括在東中國海與日本的糾紛，在南中國海與越南和菲律賓的糾紛。美國和亞洲多個國家的政府相信，中國推動自己的主張是一項整體戰略的一部分，目的是在更大程度上控制浩瀚的西太平洋。“There are growing concerns that this pattern of behaviour in the South China Sea reflects incremental efforts by China to assert control over the area,” Danny Russel, assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said last week. China had “created uncertainty, insecurity and instability in the region”. Mr Russel urged China to “clarify or adjust its nine-dash line claim to bring it in accordance with the international law of the sea”.
“各方越來越擔憂的是，在南中國海的這種行爲模式反映了中國掌控該地區的漸進努力，”美國國務院亞太事務助理國務卿丹尼•羅素(Danny Russel)上週表示。中國“在該地區製造了不確定性、不安全和不穩定”。羅素敦促中國“澄清或調整其九段線主張，使其符合國際海洋法”。Separately, Evan Medeiros, the Asia director at the White House national security council, warned China against declaring an air defence identification zone for the South China Sea, following its announcement in December of new rules for East China Sea airspace.
另外，白宮的國家安全委員會亞洲事務主任麥艾文(Evan Medeiros)警告中國不要在南中國海劃設防空識別區。此前中國在去年12月在東中國海劃設了防空識別區。“We have been very clear with the Chinese that we would see that [the establishment of a new air zone] as a provocative and destabilising development that would result in changes in our presence and military posture in the region.”
“我們對中方的態度一直非常明確，我們將把此舉（劃設新的防空識別區）視爲一種挑釁和破壞穩定的動態，將導致我方相應改變在該地區的存在和軍事姿態。”Speaking at a congressional hearing, Mr Russel made a series of statements that represent a hardening of the US position over the various territorial disputes. While the US claims to be neutral on the territorial disputes, he said China was responsible for increased tension in the region.
美國國務院的羅素在國會聽證會上所做的一系列陳述，均突顯美國在各項領土爭端上態度轉硬。儘管美國宣稱在相關領土爭端上立場中立，但他表示，中國要對該地區緊張加劇負責。Mr Russel said any claims to the seas must be based on genuine land features, rather than just rocks that can be covered at high tide. Under the UN convention on the law of the sea, a country can claim a 200km economic zone around islands.
羅素表示，對海上領土的任何主權主張，都必須建立在真正陸地的基礎上，而不包括在漲潮時可能被覆蓋的島礁。根據《聯合國海洋法公約》(UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS)，一個國家可以在海島周圍主張200海里的專屬經濟區。One of the difficulties for the Obama administration is that while it bases some of its arguments on the UN convention on the law of the sea, the US Senate has refused to ratify the same treaty.
奧巴馬政府面對的一個難題是，雖然它將《聯合國海洋法公約》用作自己某些論點的依據，但美國參議院迄今拒絕批准該公約。
