查克•哈格尔访问北京 美中围绕中国海洋主权交锋

The US and China traded tough words over Beijing’s increasingly assertive stance on maritime claims during a visit to Beijing by US defence secretary Chuck Hagel.

美国国防部长查克•哈格尔(Chuck Hagel，见上图)访问北京期间，美国和中国围绕中国在海洋权益主张上日趋强硬的姿态针锋相对。

Speaking to the top brass of China’s Peoples Liberation Arm on Tuesday, Mr Hagel reiterated US objections to China’s self-declared air defence identification zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea which Beijing put in place in November last year.

哈格尔周二在对中国人民解放军高官发表演讲时重申，美国反对中国在去年11月单方面宣布划设覆盖东中国海争议岛屿的防空识别区。

The zone, which requires foreign aircraft flying over it to declare themselves, is not a territorial claim per se, but clearly intended to buttress China’s claim to the Senkaku islands, known as Diaoyu in Chinese.

中方要求飞越防空识别区的外国飞机自报身份。这个防空识别区本身不是一个领土要求，但它显然意在强化中国对尖阁诸岛(Senkaku islands)——中国称钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿——的主权主张。

An ADIZ has no basis in international law but many countries, including the US and UK, have established them for security reasons.

防空识别区在国际法中并无依据，但许多国家，包括美国和英国，都出于安全原因建立了防空识别区。

“Every nation has a right to establish an air defence zone, but not a right to do it unilaterally with no collaboration, no consultation,” Mr Hagel said. “That adds to tensions, misunderstandings and could eventually add to, and eventually get to, dangerous conflict.”

“每个国家都有建立防空识别区的权利，但没有未经协调、协商就单方面这么做的权利，”哈格尔表示，“这种做法加剧了紧张、误解，最终可能加剧和引向危险的冲突。”

While the position did not deviate from previously stated US objections, China nonetheless bristled at these and other comments made by Mr Hagel before his arrival.

虽然这一立场并未偏离美方此前表明的反对意见，但中国仍对哈格尔此言以及他在抵达北京之前发表的言论感到愤怒。

‘’The Chinese people, including myself, are dissatisfied with such remarks,’’ Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, told Mr Hagel during their meeting in Beijing, the state-run news agency Xinhua said, referring to statements the US defence secretary had made in Tokyo on Sunday.

据官方的新华社报道，中央军委副主席范长龙在北京会晤哈格尔期间表示，包括他自己在内的“中国人民”不满意这样的言论。他指的是美国国防部长上周日在东京发表的言论。

While in Japan, Mr Hagel had called on China to be more transparent, to use its ‘’great power’’ responsibly and to pay heed to neighbouring countries’ concerns about its increasingly assertive territorial claims.

哈格尔在访日期间呼吁中国提高透明度，以负责任的方式运用其“大国”地位，并留意邻国对其日益强硬的领土要求的关切。

‘’Coercion, intimidation is a very deadly thing that leads only to conflict,’’ Mr Hagel said at a press conference with his Japanese counterpart.

“胁迫、恐吓是非常致命的态度，只会引向冲突，”哈格尔在与日本防卫相联合举行的新闻发布会上表示。

‘’All nations, all people, deserve respect no matter how large or how small,’’ Mr Hagel said. ‘’I think we’re seeing clear evidence of a lack of respect, along with intimidation and coercion in Europe today in what the Russians have done in Ukraine.’’

“所有国家、所有人民都值得尊重，无论多大，也无论多小。”哈格尔表示，“我认为，我们在当今欧洲，从俄罗斯对乌克兰的所作所为上，看到缺乏尊重、采取恐吓和胁迫态度的清楚证据。”

The US has asked China to clarify the so-called “nine dash line”, a demarcation on Chinese maps that Beijing uses to justify its claim to most of the South China Sea. As in the East China Sea, China’s territorial claims overlap with those of other countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines.

美国已要求中国澄清所谓的“九段线”，即中国在地图上标出、用以证明其拥有几乎整个南中国海主权的分界线。与东中国海的情况一样，中国在南中国海的领土主张与越南和菲律宾等其他国家存在重叠。

The state visit by Mr Hagel had a distinctly maritime theme, and featured the first visit by a US official to China’s new aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which lasted two hours, and was described by Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon’s spokesman, as “a harbinger of other opportunities to improve our military-to-military dialogue and transparency”.

哈格尔的正式访问有一个明显的海洋主题，其中包括美国官员首次得以参观中国新航母“辽宁号”。这次参观历时两小时，美国五角大楼发言人、海军少将约翰•柯比(John Kirby)称，这是“改善两军对话、提高透明度的其他机遇的先兆”。