美國表示B 52闖入南海是因偏離方向

U.S. officials said Saturday its two B-52 bombers didn't intend to fly over China's artificial island in the South China Sea, after Beijing scolded Washington and accused them of a "serious military provocation" in the disputed waters.

美軍兩架B-52轟炸機於週六飛進了中國在南海的華陽礁上空，中方發表聲明稱這是一次嚴重的軍事挑釁，而美方則迴應稱此舉並非有意。

China's Defense Ministry said earlier the U.S. was deliberately raising tensions in the region, where China has been aggressively asserting its claims to most of the man-made reefs in the sea. It reiterated that it would do whatever is necessary to protect China's sovereignty.

中國國防部稱早前美方已刻意在該地區引起爭端，儘管中國之前曾多次強調大部分島礁屬中國領土範圍。中方表示將採取一切必要措施保護中國主權。

Mark Wright, a Pentagon spokesman, said that there was "no intention of flying within 12 nautical miles of any feature." A senior U.S. defense official told The Wall Street Journal that bad weather may have contributed to the pilot flying off course and into the area where China claims.

五角大樓發言人馬克·賴特強調"B-52並沒有飛近12海里的意圖"。一名高級美國國防部官員稱可能是由於惡劣天氣導致B-52偏離航向，進入了中國領土。

The U.S. uses pre-planned freedom of navigation operations to assert its rights to "innocent passage" in other country's territorial waters. "The United States routinely conducts B-52 training missions throughout the region, including over the South China Sea," Wright told the Associated Press. "These missions are designed to maintain readiness and demonstrate our commitment to fly, sail and operate anywhere allowed under international law."

美國常以"自由航行"來強調自己在其他國家海域的無害通過權。懷特稱："美國經常執行B-52飛行任務，包括在南海上方，這些任務旨在保持軍事準備，以及展示美國在國際法規允准的區域飛行、航行以及執行任務的態度。"

China's Defense Ministry demanded that Washington immediately take action to prevent such incidents and damage to relations between the two nations' militaries. The actions by the U.S. side constitute a serious military provocation and are rendering more complex and even militarizing conditions in the South China Sea," the ministry said in a statement. The statement said that Chinese military personnel on the island issued warnings demanding the B-52 strategic bombers leave the area.

中國國防部要求美國立刻採取措施避免此類事件以及對兩國軍事關係的危害。中方稱美方的做法是一次嚴重的軍事挑釁，將使南海地區局勢複雜化，甚至軍事化。國防部的聲明稱，中國在島礁上駐守的軍隊警告並驅離了這架B-52轟炸機。

Speaking to reporters on a visit to Berlin, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi drew a contrast between the situation in the South China Sea region and the chaos and turmoil in other parts of the world. "The situation in the South China Sea is essentially stable overall," he said. Wang also said that while China understands the concerns of nations from outside the region, they should "do more to benefit peace and stability, and not manufacture tensions or even fan the flames."

中國外交部長王毅在出訪柏林期間對此事作出迴應，他將南海形勢與其他地區的混亂情況作出對比，他稱"南海的整體形勢比較穩定。"他還表示中方理解世界其他國家對南海的關注，但是這些國家應多爲和平穩定做貢獻，而不是製造爭端，煽風點火。