【英语中国】美军担心中国在太平洋扩张

The commander of US forces in the Pacific has warned that China’s military is asserting the country’s territorial claims in regional waters more aggressively.

“There has been an assertiveness that has been growing over time, particularly in the South China Sea and in the East China Sea,” Admiral Robert Willard told the Financial Times. He said China’s extensive claims to islands and waters in the region were “generating increasing concern broadly across the region and require address”.

The admiral’s remarks come after complaints by Japan’s government about aggressive behaviour from a Chinese coastguard vessel in contested waters and a Chinese military helicopter in international waters.

Some of China’s neighbours have been watching the People’s Liberation Army’s modernisation and efforts at expanding the PLA navy’s reach with unease. Defence experts see this expansion as one factor behind a developing arms race in south-east Asia.

Admiral Willard said the US viewed China’s growing influence in Asia as positive. But Beijing needed to be more transparent, not only with the US but also with its neighbours, about the part of the PLA’s capabilities that could be viewed as aggressive.

He was speaking before talks with Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of general staff of the PLA, the first meeting between senior US and Chinese military officers since Beijing suspended bilateral military-to-military dialogue in January over US arms sales to Taiwan.

“US-China military dialogue is officially still in suspension,” said Admiral Willard, who visited Beijing at the invitation of Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, in the context of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, a series of high-level bilateral exchanges that concluded on Tuesday.

But he interpreted the fact that Beijing had agreed to his presence as a sign that it viewed some high-level exchanges as beneficial.

“What was very striking yesterday was my impression of the very advanced, sophisticated and mature dialogue that’s occurring across a wide range of subjects between China and the US,” he said. “That is in contrast with a very immature military to military relationship that we see great value in improving, and we hope that that would become evident to China as well.”

The admiral said he had not been a party to discussions with China about North Korea, which had been led by Mrs Clinton. Military observers in Beijing said they believed the issue had been on the agenda on his meeting with Gen Ma.

Admiral Willard said: “China has a role in this as a direct result of the relationship that they maintain with the North Koreans. At the same time, the broader international community has a role to play in this, and we think the UN ultimately has a role to play in this in support of the aggrieved party, South Korea.”

美军太平洋司令部司令罗伯特?威拉德海军上将(Admiral Robert Willard)警告称，中国军方正以越来越具攻击性的态度，维护中国在该地区水域的领土主张。

“中国的自信与日俱增，尤其在南中国海和东中国海问题上，”威拉德海军上将对英国《金融时报》表示。他说，中国对该地区诸多岛屿及水域的领土主张，“正在整个地区引发越来越多的担忧，这一问题必须予以解决”。

此前，日本政府曾对争议水域一艘中国巡逻艇和国际水域一驾中国军用直升机针对日方的挑衅行为提出抗议。

中国一些邻国一直在不安地关注着中国人民解放军的现代化进程及其拓展海军所及范围的努力。防务专家将这一扩张视为推动东南亚军备竞赛升级的一个因素。

威拉德海军上将表示，美国将中国在亚洲影响力的逐渐增长视为一种积极因素。但对解放军某些可能被视为具有攻击性的作战能力，中国政府必须提高透明度——不只对美国，还要对中国的邻国。

他的上述言论发表在他与中国人民解放军副总参谋长马晓天会面之前。这是自今年1月北京方面因美国对台军售暂停双边军事对话以来，美中两国军队高级将领的首次会面。

“在官方层面，美中军事对话仍处于暂停状态，”威拉德海军上将表示。他此次是应美国国务卿希拉里?克林顿(Hillary Clinton)之邀访华，参加美中战略与经济对话——这一两国间的系列高端双边对话于本周二告一段落。

他将北京方面同意他出席此次对话解读为一种信号，表明中方认为一定程度的高端对话是有益的。

“昨日令我印象极为深刻的是，对话相当高端、精妙和成熟，涵盖了中美之间的各种话题，”他表示。“相比之下，两国的军事关系则非常不成熟。改善这种关系蕴含着巨大的价值，我们希望中国也能明白这一点。”

威拉德海军上将表示，自己并未参与希拉里主持的与中方关于朝鲜问题的讨论。北京的军事观察人士表示，他们相信，这一问题被列在了他与马晓天上将会谈的议程上。

威拉德海军上将表示：“中国在该问题中扮演着重要角色，这是他们与朝鲜方面保持关系的直接成果。与此同时，更广泛的国际社会也在该问题中扮演着某种角色。我们认为联合国最终会在该问题中发挥作用、支持受损害方韩国。”

译者/何黎