纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英美国寻求与印度加强防务合作抗衡中国海上力量

When the Salvor, a U.S. Navy rescue and salvage ship, pulled into a port in India’s southeast this summer, the job at hand was patching up the aging vessel. But there was a bigger mission, too: opening another door for a U.S. military trying to stretch out across the Indo-Pacific and counter Chinese power.

今年夏天，美国海军救援和打捞船“萨尔沃尔”号停靠在印度东南部的一个港口，这艘老旧的船需要进行维修。但还有它一个更大的使命：为试图在印太地区全面部署以对抗中国力量的美国军方打开又一扇门。

The Navy ship was the third in a year to arrive at Kattupalli, an industrial hamlet north of Chennai with a state-of-the-art shipyard. And this time, the visit marked the start of a five-year ship repair agreement — a tangible step toward defense cooperation for two nations pushed together by geopolitics and Washington’s desire to court and strengthen a rising Asian giant.

这是一年内第三艘抵达卡图帕里的军舰。卡图帕里是金奈北部的一个工业小镇，拥有最先进的造船厂。这次访问标志着一项为期五年的船舶维修协议的开始——这是两国在地缘政治，以及华盛顿向一个崛起的亚洲巨人示好并增强其实力的愿望推动下，向防务合作迈出的切实一步。

“We’re well equipped to do this,” said Arun Ramchandani, the head of the defense unit of L&T, the Mumbai-based conglomerate that built the shipyard. “And I think that this is just the beginning.”

“我们完全有能力完成这个工作，”建造该造船厂的孟买企业集团L&T的防务部门主管阿鲁恩·拉姆钱达尼说。“我认为这仅仅是个开始。”

The deal, which includes another defense contractor in Mumbai, is part of a strategy the Pentagon calls “places not bases” — pursuing access to more sites where the United States has no military installations of its own. In the vast Indo-Pacific, such connections could prove important for deterring China and, in the event of a conflict, sustaining a U.S. mobilization.

这项协议还包括孟买的另一家防务承包商，这是五角大楼所谓的“地点而非基地”战略的一部分，即寻求进入更多美国自己没有军事设施的地方。在广阔的印太地区，这种联系对于威慑中国，以及在发生冲突时支撑美国的力量调动至关重要。

Beijing has already strengthened ties with Sri Lanka and Pakistan by building or expanding ports through its Belt and Road initiative, while just over the past year, Washington has raced to catch up by signing new or expanded security arrangements with the Philippines, Japan, Australia, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam, in addition to India.

北京已通过“一带一路”倡议建设或扩大港口，加强了与斯里兰卡和巴基斯坦的关系，而就在过去一年里，华盛顿急起直追，除了与印度外，还与菲律宾、日本、澳大利亚、帕劳、巴布亚新几内亚和越南签署了新的或扩大的安全约定。

In some countries, the United States is lining up locations for ship or submarine repair and resupply. In others, it has gained access to strategic islands or sea lanes by agreeing to improve infrastructure and assist law enforcement with equipment, or by sharing information about threats at sea.

在一些国家，美国正在为船只或潜艇的维修和补给安排地点。在另一些国家，它通过同意改善基础设施和装备协助执法，或通过分享海上威胁的信息，获得了对战略岛屿或海上航道的使用权。

Greater defense cooperation with India — at the opposite end of the Indo-Pacific from American bases in Japan and South Korea — is an especially coveted prize for the United States, which hopes New Delhi will become both a military ally and an alternative to China for manufacturing and technology development. Under a shared defense road map, the two sides, among other initiatives, also announced a major deal on jet engines this year.

印度与美国在日本和韩国的基地隔海相望，位于印太的另一端，美国希望新德里不仅成为军事盟友，而且在制造业和技术发展方面成为中国的替代选择，因此，与印度加强防务合作是美国梦寐以求的目标。根据共同的防务路线图，除其他举措外，双方今年还宣布了一项关于喷气发动机的重大协议。

Still, both countries have a lot of bureaucracy, history and skepticism to overcome.

尽管如此，两国都有很多官僚主义、历史和疑虑需要克服。

Under a 1920 merchant marine law that protects American shipyards from competition, for example, only noncombat ships can be repaired by other countries. New Delhi’s relative military weakness and long history of acting as a nonaligned nation may also limit its willingness to work with the United States in a military conflict. And with Indian agents now accused of orchestrating the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil, Washington is facing new questions about Indian reliability.

例如，根据1920年保护美国造船厂免受竞争的商船法，只有非战斗船只才能由其他国家修理。新德里相对较弱的军事实力和长期不结盟的历史也可能限制其在军事冲突中与美国合作的意愿。现在，印度特工被指控策划在加拿大领土上杀害一名锡克教分离分子，华盛顿正面临着一个印度是否靠得住的新问题。

But Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said the United States aimed to make India a logistics hub for the U.S. military and other partners in the Indo-Pacific, implying that the country’s ports could be useful in a potential war. And both countries see the ship repair deal as an exercise in reassurance, confirming that warmer relations are here to stay.

但五角大楼发言人帕特·莱德上将表示，美国的目标是让印度成为美国军方和印太地区其他合作伙伴的后勤中心，这意味着印度的港口可能会在潜在的战争中发挥作用。两国都将修船协议视为一种消除疑虑的行动，证实两国关系的升温将持续下去。

“What’s happened is the character of the relationship has changed — it has broadened, it has its benefits, but in implementation it has its huge challenges,” said Anil Ahuja, a retired lieutenant general in the Indian Army who has worked on U.S.-India military task forces. “We have to learn where to plug in.”

“现在的情况是，两国关系的性质发生了变化——扩大了，有收益了，但在实施过程中遇到了巨大的挑战，”曾在美印特遣部队工作的印度退役陆军中将阿尼尔·阿胡贾说。“我们需要搞清楚在什么地方合作。”

Concerns about China are driving the nascent partnership. New Delhi has become more anxious about Chinese submarines and ships moving between Africa and the subcontinent. Chinese research vessels also linger near India’s coast more often, Indian officials said, raising concerns about spying by Beijing.

对中国的担忧正在推动这一新生的伙伴关系。印度政府对非洲和印度次大陆之间往来的中国潜艇和船只越来越感到担忧。印度官员说，中国科考船也更加频繁地在印度海岸附近徘徊，这引发了对北京间谍活动的担忧。

For India, worries about China’s power at sea — and not just in the Himalayan region where China and India share a disputed border — have contributed to a wider awakening. At a kickoff meeting in September for U.S. and Indian officials pursuing defense innovations, the first design efforts focused on undersea communication and maritime intelligence.

对印度来说，对中国海上力量的担忧——不仅仅是在中印有争议边界的喜马拉雅地区——促使印度更广泛地觉醒。在9月举行的美印官员防务创新启动会议上，首批设计工作的重点是水下通信和海上情报。

“India sees Chinese hegemonic ambitions far more clearly now, while it refused to see them before,” said C. Raja Mohan, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Delhi.

德里亚洲协会政策研究所高级研究员C·拉贾·莫汉说，“印度现在更清楚地看到了中国的霸权野心，而以前它拒绝看到它们。”

The United States and India have also found that at sea, where protecting commerce and shipping are widely shared interests, partnerships are less politically fraught. In international waters, the two navies increasingly practice passing maneuvers and tactical communication.

美国和印度还发现，在海上，保护商业和航运是广泛的共同利益，这方面的伙伴关系不那么充满政治风险。在国际水域，两国海军越来越多地进行通过演习和战术通信。

“There are fewer sensitivities in the maritime domain,” General Ahuja said. “You can hug and kiss each other in the middle of the sea and nobody cares.”

“海上领域的敏感问题较少，”阿胡贾说。“你可以在海上拥抱亲吻，没有人会在意。”

The ship repair agreement extends that bond to places like Kattupalli, where a container port and power plants rise from lush coastal flats about 20 miles from Chennai.

船舶维修协议将这种联系延伸到了卡图帕里等地，在那里，集装箱港口和发电厂在距金奈约30公里的繁茂沿海平原上拔地而起。

Built from scratch about a decade ago, L&T’s 900-acre shipyard has 2,000 workers who can build or repair several ships at a time. It can accommodate vessels weighing up to 20,000 tons, thanks to a ship lift that raises them in and out of the water and moves them to different areas, under cover or in the open air.

L&T的船厂是在大约十年前从零开始建造的，占地364公顷，有2000名工人，可以一次建造或修理多艘船舶。它可以容纳重达2万吨的船只，这要归功于一个升船机，可以将水中的船只抬起或放下，并将它们移动到不同的区域，无论是在有遮盖的地方还是在露天。

On a recent visit, several large patrol boats were being built, while a handful of commercial tankers bobbed in the water, awaiting repairs.

在最近的一次访问中，几艘大型巡逻艇正在建造中，几艘商业油轮漂在水面上等待维修。

Here and at other locations, India and its defense companies have made clear they would like to do more work for the United States.

在这里和其他地方，印度及其国防公司已经明确表示，他们愿意为美国做更多的工作。

Last year, a delegation of congressional staff members visited a naval shipyard in Kochi, on the western coast, where officers showed off India’s newest aircraft carrier and pitched their port as a repair shop for warships working the Persian Gulf.

去年，一个由国会工作人员组成的代表团参观了位于西海岸科奇的一家海军造船厂，军官们在那里展示了印度最新的航空母舰，并宣传他们的港口是波斯湾战舰的修理厂。

“They wanted to show us that they were really pressing forward and developing their own capabilities,” said Megan Reiss, a former national security adviser to Senator Mitt Romney who was part of the trip.

“他们想向我们展示，他们真的在向前推进，在发展自己的能力，”参议员米特·罗姆尼的前国家安全顾问梅根·赖斯说。赖斯也参加了这次访问。

The Americans, while intrigued, also pointed out a perennial impediment: India’s reliance on Russian military equipment. The aircraft on the carrier were Moscow’s designs.

美国人虽然很感兴趣，但也指出了一个长期存在的障碍：印度对俄罗斯军事装备的依赖。它的航母上的飞机是莫斯科设计的。

The White House has emphasized that India is heading in the right direction by buying less from Russia, lining up orders recently with the United States for drones, and building more weaponry by modernizing generic designs. Some U.S. officials have signaled that they hope India eventually replaces Russia as a supplier of conventional military hardware for countries that cannot afford American weapons systems.

白宫强调，印度正在朝着正确的方向前进，减少从俄罗斯购买武器，最近与美国签订了无人机订单，并通过对通用设计进行现代化改造来制造更多武器。一些美国官员表示，他们希望印度最终取代俄罗斯，成为买不起美国武器系统的国家的常规军事装备供应商。

Companies like L&T, which produces delivery systems for high-tech weaponry, believe that, with American support, they can find new ways to join global supply chains.

像L&T这样生产高科技武器投送系统的公司相信，在美国的支持下，他们可以找到加入全球供应链的新途径。

“The good thing about the Indian defense ecosystem is that it is innovative,” Mr. Ramchandani, the L&T executive, said.

“印度国防生态系统的优点在于创新，”L&T公司高管拉姆钱达尼说。

But with some of its most useful and sensitive equipment, the United States has held back.

但在一些最有用、最敏感的设备上，美国却有所保留。

Undersea monitoring technology, for example, has become a source of tension. India wants more than American officials said they felt comfortable sharing — to avoid commingling with Russian tools or personnel, and to keep America’s own movements from detection by India.

例如，海底监测技术已成为紧张的根源。印度想要的不仅仅是美国官员表示愿意分享的——美国这样做是为了避免与俄罗斯的工具或人员混杂，并防止美国自己的行动被印度发现。

In the meantime, there is Kattupalli. At least one more U.S. ship is expected this year. In most cases, shipyard managers said, they start preparations for the Americans up to 45 days early.

与此同时，还有卡图帕里。预计今年至少还有一艘美国军舰。造船厂经理说，在大多数情况下，他们会提前45天开始为美国人做准备。

Even for logistics vessels, the demands can be intense. Americans need different food, and they expect a certain level of accommodation and security.

即使是后勤船，需求也可能非常大。美国人需要不同的食物，他们期望一定水准的住宿和安全。

When the Salvor docked, other berths were kept empty. There were armed guards around the parking lot and an Indian Navy warship off the coast.

当“萨尔沃尔”号靠岸时，其他泊位都是空的。停车场周围有武装警卫，海上还有一艘印度海军军舰。