中美防長會談，馬蒂斯試圖淡化兩國緊張關(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，美國國防部長吉姆·馬蒂斯(Jim Mattis)試圖為華盛頓與北京間的一系列敵意降溫，他表示在不斷升級的政治緊張關(guān)系中，兩個相互競爭的全球大國能否成為一股穩(wěn)定力量，要取決于兩國的軍方。

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)一名在場的國務(wù)院高級官員透露，在與中國國防部長魏鳳和的一個半小時的會晤中，馬蒂斯弱化了副總統(tǒng)邁克·彭斯(Mike Pence)本月對中國的尖銳批評。馬蒂斯敦促兩國軍方充分討論雙方的差異，甚至再次邀請魏鳳和訪問美國。

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.

但周四這種誠懇語氣的背后，是兩國根深蒂固、毫無緩和跡象的緊張關(guān)系。正如往常一樣，中國對馬蒂斯關(guān)于北京在南海爭議島嶼持續(xù)進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，在新加坡的這場東南亞國家會議中，其他出席國家依然拒絕美國的呼吁，不愿意與美國一同挑戰(zhàn)中國在南海爭議地區(qū)的主張。其中兩個國家——馬來西亞和泰國——準(zhǔn)備了一場與中國的聯(lián)合海軍軍演，美國官員擔(dān)憂該軍演是北京離間美國盟友的總體行動的一部分。

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)采訪時對他的質(zhì)疑所帶來的影響及猜測，仍然令他備受困擾，特朗普在節(jié)目中對這位美國防部長是否還能擔(dān)任該職位表示懷疑，并在采訪中稱馬蒂斯“算是個民主黨人，如果你聽真話的話”。馬蒂斯后來告訴記者，特朗普已經(jīng)致電給他，向他保證自己“百分之百”支持國防部長，但在亞洲，有人在猜測馬蒂斯還能擔(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晤舉行之際，美中兩國仍然危機不斷。特朗普指控中國上個月干預(yù)美國中期選舉，中國對此予以否認(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日的講話被廣泛視為預(yù)示美中兩國將出現(xiàn)一場新冷戰(zhàn)，并且特朗普政府此后在這方面語氣愈發(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，白宮表示計劃從有著144年歷史的萬國郵政聯(lián)盟退出，該聯(lián)盟允許中國公司以折扣價將小型包裹運到美國，退出計劃屬于特朗普的一項統(tǒng)一行動的一部分，其目的是制衡中國的主導(dǎo)地位，并且對美國政府所說的一貫不公正的貿(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.

被馬蒂斯譽為穩(wěn)定支柱的兩國軍方關(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，以此開啟他本周的亞洲之行，但由于特朗普對一家向俄羅斯購買武器的中國軍工國企實施制裁，加之華盛頓計劃向被中國視為領(lǐng)土的自治島嶼臺灣出售價值3.3億美元軍備，對此深感不滿的中國取消了該訪問。

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。中國主張南海幾乎所有地區(qū)都為該國領(lǐng)土，并且強烈抗議美國軍方在該地區(qū)的巡邏。美國則將這片海域視為國際水域，并且為了闡明其主張，常常派戰(zhàn)斗機及戰(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)與會的五角大樓亞太最高官員蘭德爾·G·施賴弗(Randall G. Schriver)透露，在與魏鳳和的談話中，馬蒂斯在南海問題上的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)談話要點中引入了一種新態(tài)勢。馬蒂斯力圖傳達他所說的其他國家對中國南海主張的擔(dān)憂。

“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.

“他談到了從其他國家那里聽到的，這些國家對中國言行不符的反應(yīng)，他們的擔(dān)憂及困惑，”施賴弗說。

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.

美國官員近期開始私下抱怨稱，涉及在南海公開挑戰(zhàn)中國方面，美國承擔(dān)了大部分的海軍行動，進行了大量所謂的航行自由任務(wù)，在這些航行中，美國戰(zhàn)艦進入到了爭議島嶼的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.

中國一向反對此類航行——上個月，美國海軍迪凱特號(Decatur)驅(qū)逐艦在南海執(zhí)行自由航行任務(wù)時，一艘中國戰(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)中國艦船在船身側(cè)面裝上了保險杠時，”亞洲行開始時，馬蒂斯在飛機上告訴記者，“在大海中你是不會做這種事的，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.

他誓言稱美國艦船會繼續(xù)穿越在美國看來是國際水域的地區(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.

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

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

在會晤中，馬蒂斯提到了其他國家。

“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，鑒于中國的實力，其他國家可能沒有這種總是能站出來說話的自信，”施賴弗在會后告訴記者。“但他想讓魏部長知道，他常常會從其他國家那里聽到這些話。”

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

但施賴弗也承認(rèn)，對于具體一個國家，“如何與中國進行雙邊接觸是它們主權(quán)范圍內(nèi)的事。”