查克•哈格爾訪問北京 美中圍繞中國海洋主權交鋒

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.

美國國防部長查克•哈格爾(Chuck Hagel，見上圖)訪問北京期間，美國和中國圍繞中國在海洋權益主張上日趨強硬的姿態針鋒相對。

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.

哈格爾週二在對中國人民解放軍高官發表演講時重申，美國反對中國在去年11月單方面宣佈劃設覆蓋東中國海爭議島嶼的防空識別區。

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.

中方要求飛越防空識別區的外國飛機自報身份。這個防空識別區本身不是一個領土要求，但它顯然意在強化中國對尖閣諸島(Senkaku islands)——中國稱釣魚島及其附屬島嶼——的主權主張。

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

防空識別區在國際法中並無依據，但許多國家，包括美國和英國，都出於安全原因建立了防空識別區。

“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.”

“每個國家都有建立防空識別區的權利，但沒有未經協調、協商就單方面這麼做的權利，”哈格爾表示，“這種做法加劇了緊張、誤解，最終可能加劇和引向危險的衝突。”

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.

雖然這一立場並未偏離美方此前表明的反對意見，但中國仍對哈格爾此言以及他在抵達北京之前發表的言論感到憤怒。

‘’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.

據官方的新華社報道，中央軍委副主席範長龍在北京會晤哈格爾期間表示，包括他自己在內的“中國人民”不滿意這樣的言論。他指的是美國國防部長上週日在東京發表的言論。

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.

哈格爾在訪日期間呼籲中國提高透明度，以負責任的方式運用其“大國”地位，並留意鄰國對其日益強硬的領土要求的關切。

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

“脅迫、恐嚇是非常致命的態度，只會引向衝突，”哈格爾在與日本防衛相聯合舉行的新聞發佈會上表示。

‘’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.’’

“所有國家、所有人民都值得尊重，無論多大，也無論多小。”哈格爾表示，“我認爲，我們在當今歐洲，從俄羅斯對烏克蘭的所作所爲上，看到缺乏尊重、採取恐嚇和脅迫態度的清楚證據。”

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.

美國已要求中國澄清所謂的“九段線”，即中國在地圖上標出、用以證明其擁有幾乎整個南中國海主權的分界線。與東中國海的情況一樣，中國在南中國海的領土主張與越南和菲律賓等其他國家存在重疊。

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”.

哈格爾的正式訪問有一個明顯的海洋主題，其中包括美國官員首次得以參觀中國新航母“遼寧號”。這次參觀歷時兩小時，美國五角大樓發言人、海軍少將約翰•柯比(John Kirby)稱，這是“改善兩軍對話、提高透明度的其他機遇的先兆”。