中美防長(zhǎng)會(huì)談，馬蒂斯試圖淡化兩國(guó)緊張關(guān)系

SINGAPORE — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis tried to lower the temperature on the array of hostilities between Washington and Beijing on Thursday, saying it is up to the militaries of the two competing global superpowers to act as a stabilizing force amid rising political tensions.

新加坡——周四，美國(guó)國(guó)防部長(zhǎng)吉姆·馬蒂斯(Jim Mattis)試圖為華盛頓與北京間的一系列敵意降溫，他表示在不斷升級(jí)的政治緊張關(guān)系中，兩個(gè)相互競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的全球大國(guó)能否成為一股穩(wěn)定力量，要取決于兩國(guó)的軍方。

During an hour-and-a-half meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Mr. Mattis sanded down some of the sharp edges from Vice President Mike Pence’s pointed critique of China this month. Mr. Mattis urged the two militaries to talk through their many differences and even repeated an invitation for Wei Fenghe, China’s defense minister, to visit the United States, according to a senior Defense Department official who was in the meeting.

據(jù)一名在場(chǎng)的國(guó)務(wù)院高級(jí)官員透露，在與中國(guó)國(guó)防部長(zhǎng)魏鳳和的一個(gè)半小時(shí)的會(huì)晤中，馬蒂斯弱化了副總統(tǒng)邁克·彭斯(Mike Pence)本月對(duì)中國(guó)的尖銳批評(píng)。馬蒂斯敦促兩國(guó)軍方充分討論雙方的差異，甚至再次邀請(qǐng)魏鳳和訪(fǎng)問(wèn)美國(guó)。

But the cordial tone belied deep tensions that showed no signs of abating on Thursday. China, as it usually does, brushed off Mr. Mattis’s complaints about Beijing’s continued militarization of disputed islands in the South China Sea.

但周四這種誠(chéng)懇語(yǔ)氣的背后，是兩國(guó)根深蒂固、毫無(wú)緩和跡象的緊張關(guān)系。正如往常一樣，中國(guó)對(duì)馬蒂斯關(guān)于北京在南海爭(zhēng)議島嶼持續(xù)進(jìn)行軍事化的抱怨置之不理。

Meanwhile, other countries present at a meeting in Singapore of Southeast Asian nations continued to resist American entreaties to add their voices to the American challenge of China’s claims in the disputed area. And two of those countries — Malaysia and Thailand — prepared for a joint naval exercise with China that American officials worry is part of a larger effort by Beijing to peel away American allies.

與此同時(shí)，在新加坡的這場(chǎng)東南亞國(guó)家會(huì)議中，其他出席國(guó)家依然拒絕美國(guó)的呼吁，不愿意與美國(guó)一同挑戰(zhàn)中國(guó)在南海爭(zhēng)議地區(qū)的主張。其中兩個(gè)國(guó)家——馬來(lái)西亞和泰國(guó)——準(zhǔn)備了一場(chǎng)與中國(guó)的聯(lián)合海軍軍演，美國(guó)官員擔(dān)憂(yōu)該軍演是北京離間美國(guó)盟友的總體行動(dòng)的一部分。

Mr. Mattis, for his part, was hampered by the continued fallout and speculation from President Trump’s questioning on Sunday whether the defense chief would remain on the job, calling Mr. Mattis “sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth,” during in interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes. ” Mr. Mattis later told reporters that Mr. Trump had called him to reassure him that he was “100 percent” behind the defense secretary, but in Asia there has been speculation about how long Mr. Mattis will be around.

而就馬蒂斯而言，特朗普總統(tǒng)周日接受CBS《60分鐘》(60 Minutes)采訪(fǎng)時(shí)對(duì)他的質(zhì)疑所帶來(lái)的影響及猜測(cè)，仍然令他備受困擾，特朗普在節(jié)目中對(duì)這位美國(guó)防部長(zhǎng)是否還能擔(dān)任該職位表示懷疑，并在采訪(fǎng)中稱(chēng)馬蒂斯“算是個(gè)民主黨人，如果你聽(tīng)真話(huà)的話(huà)”。馬蒂斯后來(lái)告訴記者，特朗普已經(jīng)致電給他，向他保證自己“百分之百”支持國(guó)防部長(zhǎng)，但在亞洲，有人在猜測(cè)馬蒂斯還能擔(dān)任該職位多久。

The Mattis-Wei meeting comes as the United States and China continue to lurch from one crisis to the next. Mr. Trump accused China last month of meddling in the American midterm elections, an accusation Beijing rejected.

馬蒂斯和魏鳳和的會(huì)晤舉行之際，美中兩國(guó)仍然危機(jī)不斷。特朗普指控中國(guó)上個(gè)月干預(yù)美國(guó)中期選舉，中國(guó)對(duì)此予以否認(rèn)。

Mr. Pence’s Oct. 4 speech has been widely viewed as foreshadowing a new Cold War between the United States and China, and except for Mr. Mattis, the Trump administration has only turned up the volume since.

彭斯10月4日的講話(huà)被廣泛視為預(yù)示美中兩國(guó)將出現(xiàn)一場(chǎng)新冷戰(zhàn)，并且特朗普政府此后在這方面語(yǔ)氣愈發(fā)加重，只有馬蒂斯是例外。

On Wednesday the White House said it planned to withdraw from a 144-year old postal treaty that has allowed Chinese companies to ship small packages to the United States at a discounted rate, part of a concerted push by Mr. Trump to counter China’s dominance and punish it for what the administration says is a pattern of unfair trade practices.

周三，白宮表示計(jì)劃從有著144年歷史的萬(wàn)國(guó)郵政聯(lián)盟退出，該聯(lián)盟允許中國(guó)公司以折扣價(jià)將小型包裹運(yùn)到美國(guó)，退出計(jì)劃屬于特朗普的一項(xiàng)統(tǒng)一行動(dòng)的一部分，其目的是制衡中國(guó)的主導(dǎo)地位，并且對(duì)美國(guó)政府所說(shuō)的一貫不公正的貿(mào)易做法予以懲罰。

The military relationship that Mr. Mattis is pushing as an island of stability is also taking hits. Mr. Mattis was supposed to begin his trip to Asia this week with a stop in Beijing for talks with Mr. Wei, but China canceled the visit, citing annoyance over sanctions Mr. Trump imposed on a Chinese state military company for buying weapons from Russia, and Washington’s plans to sell $330 million in military equipment to Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own.

被馬蒂斯譽(yù)為穩(wěn)定支柱的兩國(guó)軍方關(guān)系也受到重創(chuàng)。馬蒂斯原本應(yīng)該在北京停留，與魏鳳和談話(huà)，以此開(kāi)啟他本周的亞洲之行，但由于特朗普對(duì)一家向俄羅斯購(gòu)買(mǎi)武器的中國(guó)軍工國(guó)企實(shí)施制裁，加之華盛頓計(jì)劃向被中國(guó)視為領(lǐng)土的自治島嶼臺(tái)灣出售價(jià)值3.3億美元軍備，對(duì)此深感不滿(mǎn)的中國(guó)取消了該訪(fǎng)問(wèn)。

The biggest source of tension between the Pentagon and Beijing continues to be the South China Sea. China claims almost all the South China Sea and strongly protests American military patrols there. The United States, for its part, considers the sea to be international waters and sends bombers and warships through every so often to make that point.

五角大樓與北京的緊張關(guān)系最大源頭仍是南海。中國(guó)主張南海幾乎所有地區(qū)都為該國(guó)領(lǐng)土，并且強(qiáng)烈抗議美國(guó)軍方在該地區(qū)的巡邏。美國(guó)則將這片海域視為國(guó)際水域，并且為了闡明其主張，常常派戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)及戰(zhàn)艦穿越該區(qū)域。

During his talk with Mr. Wei, Mr. Mattis introduced a new dynamic into the standard talking points over the South China Sea issue, according to Randall G. Schriver, the Pentagon’s top official for Asia and the Pacific, who was in the meeting. Mr. Mattis sought to convey what he said were concerns of other Asia-Pacific countries over Chinese claims on the South China Sea.

據(jù)與會(huì)的五角大樓亞太最高官員蘭德?tīng)?middot;G·施賴(lài)弗(Randall G. Schriver)透露，在與魏鳳和的談話(huà)中，馬蒂斯在南海問(wèn)題上的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)談話(huà)要點(diǎn)中引入了一種新態(tài)勢(shì)。馬蒂斯力圖傳達(dá)他所說(shuō)的其他國(guó)家對(duì)中國(guó)南海主張的擔(dān)憂(yōu)。

“He talked about the reactions that he hears from other countries and their concern and confusion over China’s actions not necessarily matching their words,” Mr. Schriver said.

“他談到了從其他國(guó)家那里聽(tīng)到的，這些國(guó)家對(duì)中國(guó)言行不符的反應(yīng)，他們的擔(dān)憂(yōu)及困惑，”施賴(lài)弗說(shuō)。

American officials have recently started complaining privately that the United States does the bulk of the naval work when it comes to overtly challenging China in the South China Sea, with numerous so-called Freedom of Navigation trips, during which American warships sail within 12 miles of the disputed islands.

美國(guó)官員近期開(kāi)始私下抱怨稱(chēng)，涉及在南海公開(kāi)挑戰(zhàn)中國(guó)方面，美國(guó)承擔(dān)了大部分的海軍行動(dòng)，進(jìn)行了大量所謂的航行自由任務(wù)，在這些航行中，美國(guó)戰(zhàn)艦進(jìn)入到了爭(zhēng)議島嶼的12英里范圍之內(nèi)。

China always objects to the trips — last month a Chinese warship came within 45 yards of the American naval destroyer Decatur as it conducted a Freedom of Navigation operation in the South China Sea. The Pentagon characterized the maneuver as unsafe and unprofessional.

中國(guó)一向反對(duì)此類(lèi)航行——上個(gè)月，美國(guó)海軍迪凱特號(hào)(Decatur)驅(qū)逐艦在南海執(zhí)行自由航行任務(wù)時(shí)，一艘中國(guó)戰(zhàn)艦離該驅(qū)逐艦只有45碼(約合40米)。五角大樓認(rèn)為這種行為不安全且不專(zhuān)業(yè)。

“When the Chinese ships are putting bumpers over the side,” Mr. Mattis told reporters on the plane at the beginning of his Asia trip, “you don’t do that when you’re out in the middle of the ocean, unless you’re intending to run into something.”

“當(dāng)中國(guó)艦船在船身側(cè)面裝上了保險(xiǎn)杠時(shí)，”亞洲行開(kāi)始時(shí)，馬蒂斯在飛機(jī)上告訴記者，“在大海中你是不會(huì)做這種事的，除非你的意圖是撞上什么東西。”

He vowed that American ships would continue to traverse what the United States views as international waters.

他誓言稱(chēng)美國(guó)艦船會(huì)繼續(xù)穿越在美國(guó)看來(lái)是國(guó)際水域的地區(qū)。

But it is one thing for an American warship to challenge a Chinese one; it is a far bigger challenge for a smaller navy to do so. Britain conducted a Freedom of Navigation operation in August — China complained about that, too — but China’s smaller Asian neighbors have been loath to follow suit.

但美國(guó)戰(zhàn)艦挑戰(zhàn)中國(guó)戰(zhàn)艦是一回事，一個(gè)要小得多的海軍這么做就是要大得多的挑戰(zhàn)了。英國(guó)于八月執(zhí)行了自由航行任務(wù)——中國(guó)對(duì)該任務(wù)也作出了抱怨——但中國(guó)那些小一些的亞洲鄰國(guó)在效仿該行為方面很是勉強(qiáng)。

During the meeting, Mr. Mattis brought up the other countries.

在會(huì)晤中，馬蒂斯提到了其他國(guó)家。

“I think his point was that in some instances, other countries may not have the confidence, given China’s strength, to always speak up,” Mr. Schriver told reporters after the meeting. “But he wanted to let minister Wei know that he hears about it a great deal from other countries.”

“我認(rèn)為他的意思是，在某些情況里，鑒于中國(guó)的實(shí)力，其他國(guó)家可能沒(méi)有這種總是能站出來(lái)說(shuō)話(huà)的自信，”施賴(lài)弗在會(huì)后告訴記者。“但他想讓魏部長(zhǎng)知道，他常常會(huì)從其他國(guó)家那里聽(tīng)到這些話(huà)。”

Mr. Schriver acknowledged though, that for individual countries, “it’s sovereign decisions on how they approach China bilaterally.”

但施賴(lài)弗也承認(rèn)，對(duì)于具體一個(gè)國(guó)家，“如何與中國(guó)進(jìn)行雙邊接觸是它們主權(quán)范圍內(nèi)的事。”