美國援助菲律賓暗含的外交目的

A relief mission to bring aid to millions of people affected by Typhoon Haiyan is taking on political overtones as the U.S. mounts a large military-backed operation near waters China claims as part of its sphere of influence.

向遭受颱風“海燕”重創的數百萬災民運送救援物資的任務開始帶上政治色彩。目前，在中國宣稱屬於其勢力範圍的海域附近，美國正在發起一項由軍方支持的大規模救災行動。

On Friday, helicopters flew sortie missions to drop food and water to hard-hit and inaccessible parts of the disaster zone from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, anchored just off the coast of the Philippines. The U.S. has donated $20 million in disaster relief, among the largest commitments of any nation, according to Philippines government data. U.S. Marines are involved in aid flights between Philippine cities.

上週五，停靠在菲律賓附近的“喬治?華盛頓”號航母上的艦載直升機多次出任務，向重災區和交通中斷的地區投送食品和水。據菲律賓政府的數據顯示，美國已向菲律賓提供價值2,000萬美元的救災物資，在所有援助國中屬最高之列。美國海軍陸戰隊正在參與菲律賓多個城市之間的救援飛行任務。

While the Pentagon is under strain from shrinking budgets, the missions allow the U.S. to project soft power and potentially upstage China, which had been seen as slow to offer humanitarian aid.

儘管五角大樓面臨着預算不斷收縮的壓力，但救災行動使美國能夠彰顯其軟實力，可能搶過中國的風頭。外界曾一直認爲此次中國在提供人道主義援助方面行動遲緩。

'The large-scale mission is a reflection of Washington's desire to show that it is committed to the Asia pivot and willing to stand up and help its friends,' said Masafumi Kaneko, a researcher at the Tokyo-based PHP Institute think tank, referring to Washington's policy of expanding its diplomatic and military presence in Asia.

東京智庫PHP研究所(PHP Institute)的研究人員Masafumi Kaneko說，大規模的行動反映出華盛頓希望顯示出其致力於以亞洲爲重心，願意站出來幫助朋友。他指的是華盛頓擴大在亞洲外交和軍事參與的政策。

The U.S. aid comes as Japan, another important ally of the Philippines, gears up to play a central role in relief efforts. On Friday, Japan increased its offer of aid to $52 million. The country is dispatching 1,000 troops to the Philippines in what Japanese officials have described as the largest-ever deployment by the nation's Self-Defense Forces for disaster aid.

美國向菲律賓提供援助的同時，菲律賓的另外一個重要盟友日本正準備在救援工作中發揮核心作用。上週五，日本將援助規模擴大到5,200萬美元。日本將向菲律賓派出1,000人的部隊，日本官員說這是日本自衛隊有史以來在救災行動中派兵最多的一次。

Both the U.S. and Japan have been trying to tighten ties with Manila over the past year in a push widely seen as an effort to deter China from aggressively pressing its territorial claims in the region. Those claims include resource-rich waters around the Philippines at the heart of escalating territorial disputes between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea.

過去一年，美國和日本都一直在努力增強與馬尼拉的關係，外界普遍認爲此舉是爲防止中國在該地區積極宣示主權。中國稱菲律賓附近資源豐富的海域屬於其領土。這一地區位於南中國海(South China Sea，中國稱南海)，是馬尼拉與北京之間不斷升級的領土爭端的焦點。

Against that backdrop, China has appeared reluctant to offer help, analysts said. The government initially announced $100,000 in relief through the Red Cross Society of China. Some Chinese state-backed media said China, as a rising regional power, needed to do more. On Thursday, the country increased its pledge to $1.6 million.

分析人士說，有鑑於此，中國似乎不願提供幫助。中國政府最初宣佈將通過中國紅十字會向菲律賓提供10萬美元援助。一些中國國有媒體說，作爲該地區正在崛起的大國，中國需要提供更多的援助。上週四，中國將援助額增加至160萬美元。

'In a sense, the damage had already been done,' said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. It gives the impression that China is 'not living up to its responsibilities,' he said.

新加坡東南亞研究所(Institute of Southeast Asian Studies)高級研究人員斯托裏(Ian Storey)說，從某種意義上講，損害已經發生了。他說，它給人留下這樣的印象：中國沒有盡到自己的責任。

China's Foreign Ministry has said that its pledges of aid aren't necessarily one-time deals, and that it would continue to monitor humanitarian needs.

中國外交部說，中國的援助承諾並不一定是一次性的，中國將繼續關注菲律賓的人道主義需求。

The U.S. has long played a leading role in disaster relief in Asia, providing significant military and logistical support in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, in part a reflection of its more advanced military capabilities in the region. Such efforts were widely praised by residents at the time, especially where local governments didn't have the capacity to perform complex supply airlifts or search for bodies in remote areas.

長期以來，美國一直在亞洲的救災工作中發揮着領頭作用，在2004年印度洋海嘯和2008年緬甸遭熱帶氣旋“納吉斯”(Nargis)重創後提供了重要的軍事和物流支持，從一定程度上反映出美國在該地區更先進的軍事能力。當時，這類救災工作受到了災民的普遍讚揚，特別是在當地政府無力開展複雜的物資空運或在偏遠地區進行搜救的時候。

In the last two decades, the Pentagon has responded to more than 40 disasters just in the Pacific Command's theater.

過去20年，五角大樓僅在太平洋司令部負責的地區就對40多起災難做出了響應。

U.S. Marines are tweaking the way they equip, train, and deploy their expeditionary units to better handle these missions.

美國海軍陸戰隊正在改進他們裝備、訓練和部署遠征隊的方式，以便更好地開展救援行動。

Suspicions about U.S. motives persisted in some countries, however, especially Myanmar, whose government at the time was critical of interference.

不過，一些國家一直對美國的動機心存懷疑，特別是緬甸。2008年緬甸受災時，緬甸政府對美國的干預頗有微詞。