纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英布林肯警告中国不要武装袭击菲律宾船只

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warned China on Tuesday that an “armed” attack against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea would trigger a mutual self-defense pact between Washington and Manila, a reflection of rising tensions in the region that risk dragging the United States into armed conflict with Beijing.

美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯周二警告中国，如果菲律宾船只在南海遭到“武装”袭击，将触发华盛顿与马尼拉之间的共同自卫条约，这反映出该地区日益加剧的紧张局势有可能将美国拖入与中国政府的武装冲突之中。

But in a sign that the United States hopes to de-escalate the situation, Mr. Blinken, on a visit to Manila, gave no indication that recent Chinese provocations — which include ramming Philippine vessels and blasting them with water cannons — crossed the threshold of “armed” attacks.

但是，布林肯在访问马尼拉时没有表示中国最近的挑衅行为——包括冲撞菲律宾船只和用水炮轰击船只——已经可以划入“武装”袭击的范畴，这表明美国希望缓和局势。

Pressed during a news conference alongside his Philippine counterpart on how to deter what some analysts call China’s “gray-zone coercion tactics,” which Philippine officials say include aiming a high-powered laser at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel and temporarily blinding some crew members, Mr. Blinken pointed to diplomatic, not military, measures.

在与菲律宾同级官员共同举行的新闻发布会上，布林肯被问到如何阻止一些分析人士所称的中国的“灰色地带胁迫战术”——菲律宾官员称这种战术包括用大功率激光瞄准菲律宾海岸警卫队的一艘船只，使一些船员暂时无法视物——布林肯提出，应使用外交措施，而非军事措施。

“The very visibility of those actions, I think, has provoked from a number of other countries clear statements in support of the Philippines and against these provocative actions that are a threat to peace, security, freedom of navigation and basic rights under international law,” he said.

“我认为，这些行为的明显性引起了其他一些国家明确表示支持菲律宾，反对这些对和平、安全、航行自由和国际法规定的基本权利构成威胁的挑衅行动，”他说。

Mr. Blinken appeared to be attempting to strike a balance at a moment when the Biden administration is trying to sustain a recent thaw in relations with Beijing while also standing firm against Chinese territorial aggression in the region.

目前，拜登政府试图维持最近与中国政府关系的解冻，同时坚决反对中国在该地区的领土侵略行为，在这个时候，布林肯似乎争取达成一种平衡。

He was also signaling robust American support for the Philippines at a high-water moment for recent relations between the countries. Mr. Blinken met later in the day with the Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has pivoted his country’s foreign policy back toward Washington since succeeding Rodrigo Duterte, who openly derided the United States and embraced Beijing.

他还表示，随着菲律宾与美国近期关系抵达高点，美国将大力支持菲律宾。布林肯在当天晚些时候与菲律宾总统小费迪南德·马科斯会晤，在接替公开嘲讽美国并与北京交好的罗德里戈·杜特地之后，马科斯将菲律宾的外交政策重新转向了华盛顿。

President Biden hosted Mr. Marcos at the White House last spring, and Mr. Blinken is one of several top administration officials to visit the Philippines since Mr. Marcos’s May 2022 election.

拜登总统去年春天在白宫接待了马科斯，自马科斯2022年5月当选以来，布林肯是访问菲律宾的几位高级政府官员之一。

The White House announced on Monday that Mr. Marcos would return to the White House on April 11, along with the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, for a joint summit — the first among the three nations. A statement from the White House press secretary hailed “the historic momentum in U.S.-Philippines relations.”

白宫周一宣布，马科斯将与日本首相岸田文雄于4月11日再次访问白宫，参加三国首次联合峰会。白宫新闻秘书发表声明，对“美菲关系的历史性发展势头”表示欢迎。

The U.S. sees economic as well as strategic benefit in the renewed friendship: The Philippines is one of seven countries to receive funding from the 2022 CHIPS act passed by Congress with President Biden’s support. The law authorizes new funding to boost American research and manufacturing of semiconductors and to diversify America’s high-technology supply chain.

美国看到了重续友谊带来的经济和战略利益：在拜登总统的支持下，美国国会通过了2022年《芯片与科学法案》，菲律宾是获得该法案资助的七个国家之一。该法案授权提供新的资金，以促进美国的半导体研究和制造，并促使美国的高科技供应链多样化。

During his stop through a muggy Manila, Mr. Blinken toured the local branch of an Arizona-based semiconductor company, calling the Philippines “an increasingly critical partner” in that effort.

在闷热的马尼拉停留期间，布林肯参观了一家总部位于亚利桑那州的半导体公司在当地的分支机构，并称菲律宾是上述努力中“日益重要的合作伙伴”。

But the threat of conflict with China looms over such positive talk.

然而，与中国发生冲突的威胁笼罩着这些积极的言辞。

The U.S. and the Philippines have been bound since 1951 by a mutual self-defense treaty, forged a decade after Japan conquered the nation, but which has now become a tripwire against Chinese claims to the South China Sea rejected by the United States.

自1951年以来，美国和菲律宾一直受共同自卫条约的约束，该条约是在日本征服菲律宾十年后缔结的，但现在已成为中国对南海主权要求的绊脚石，美国拒绝中国这一主张。

The Chinese media noted Mr. Blinken’s visit here with scorn. The nationalist newspaper Global Times reported that “Washington’s use of Manila as a proxy to disrupt the South China Sea situation could bring regional strategic confrontation to an unprecedented level,” and accompanied its story with an unflattering photo of Mr. Blinken grimacing and furrowing his brow.

中国媒体对布林肯的访问嗤之以鼻。民族主义报纸《环球时报》报道称，“华盛顿利用马尼拉作为代理人来扰乱南海局势，可能会使地区战略对抗达到前所未有的程度”，并在报道中附上了一张布林肯面无表情、眉头紧皱的照片。

Global Times pointed a finger at Manila, accusing its forces of “illegally trespassing waters off China’s territory in the region and trying to mislead the international community on the issue.”

《环球时报》将矛头指向马尼拉，指责其军队“非法侵入中国在该地区的领土附近水域，并试图在这一问题上误导国际社会”。

Mr. Blinken plans to travel on from the Philippines to the Middle East, with stops in Cairo, Egypt and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He said he would pursue efforts to broker a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that would lead to a temporary cease-fire, the release of Israeli hostages and an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

布林肯计划从菲律宾继续前往中东，在埃及开罗和沙特阿拉伯吉达停留。他说，他将努力促成以色列和哈马斯之间就人质问题达成协议，从而实现临时停火，释放以色列人质，并让人道主义援助进入加沙。

Mr. Blinken also intends to focus on postwar plans, including how to provide governance and security for Gaza once the fighting stops and “what is the right architecture for lasting regional peace” — a reference to U.S. efforts to broker a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that would establish normal diplomatic relations between the countries for the first time.

布林肯还打算重点讨论战后计划，包括战斗停止后如何为加沙提供治理和安全保障，以及“什么是实现地区持久和平的正确架构”——这指的是美国努力促成以色列和沙特阿拉伯达成协议，使两国之间首次建立正常外交关系。