【英语国际】美韩联合军演还搞不搞？

The timetable for planned U.S.-South Korea joint naval exercises that have bothered Beijing is getting less and less clear.

The exercises were previously scheduled to take place in June, but were delayed after officials decided they needed more time to prepare, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported at the time. Late last month, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said he expected the joint military exercises to be held in July, although he said planning was ongoing.

Now, that timetable is looking a bit tight. A U.S. military spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that a decision on the timing and other details of the joint naval exercises will likely not come until after leaders from Washington and Seoul meet next week.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are slated to begin meetings with their South Korean counterparts on July 21, and Voice of America reported Tuesday that Whitman confirmed the potential Yellow Sea exercises will be a part of the discussions.

China has vigorously opposed the planned exercises, which come in the wake of the March sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean warship. An international investigation led by Seoul has placed blamed on North Korea.

China has so far refused to publicly blame North Korea for the Cheonan's sinking, and effectively blocked strong action against Pyongyang. Last week, the United Nations Security Council, where China holds a permanent seat and, therefore, veto power, issued a statement condemning the Cheonan's sinking, but stopping short of either blaming or penalizing North Korea.

The Security Council move angered some. Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, published an article last week arguing that the naval exercises are necessary due to 'Chinese obstinacy' at the U.N. Security Council.

Still, some unconfirmed reports have suggested that Washington and Seoul may try to adjust the exercise plans to avoid upsetting Beijing. South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported Tuesday that the two sides were considering directing the larger vessels involved in the planned exercises to the eastern side of the Korean peninsula-further from China-in a bid to soothe anxiety in Beijing, which has stressed repeatedly in recent weeks that it opposes any drills taking place near the Chinese mainland. But it's not clear if that's accurate--the newspaper also said a decision on the drills could come Tuesday, which didn't happen.

China hasn't said whether such an adjustment would satisfy it. At a regular press briefing on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang declined to say whether positioning naval vessels on the east-side of the Korean peninsula would cause China to lessen its objections to the planned drills.

Nonetheless, the U.S. military spokesman said, 'at this point, there are no options off the table.'

美韩海军计划搞一次联合演习，曾让北京不安，而其时间表正变得越来越模糊。

韩联社(Yonhap)当初报道说，按照安排，演习将在6月份举行，但官员们觉得需要用更多的时间来准备，于是被往后推迟。6月下旬，五角大楼发言人惠特曼(Bryan Whitman)说，他预计联合军演将在7月份举行，不过他也说，军演的筹划工作还在进行。

现在，这个时间表显得有些紧迫。美国军方一位发言人对《华尔街日报》说，有关联合军演进行时间和其他细节的决定，可能要到美韩领导人下周会面后才会做出。

按计划，美国国务卿克林顿(Hillary Rodham Clinton)和国防部长盖茨(Robert Gates)将在7月21日会晤韩方类似职位官员。《美国之音》(Voice of America)周二报道说，惠特曼证实可能进行的这场黄海军演将是会谈中的一部分。

中国曾强烈反对这场计划中的演习。在此之前的今年3月份，韩国军舰天安号被击沉，一场由韩国领导的国际调查认定是朝鲜所为。

到目前为止，中国一直拒绝因天安号沉没而公开谴责朝鲜，并且在事实上阻挠对朝鲜采取强硬行动。上周，联合国安全理事会(Security Council)发表声明对天安号的沉没表示谴责，但没有直接谴责朝鲜，也没有对它进行惩罚。中国是安理会常任理事国，因此拥有否决权。

安理会的所为让一些人愤怒。保守派智库美国传统基金会(The Heritage Foundation)高级研究员克林纳(Bruce Klingner)上周发表文章说，由于中国在安理会表现出的“顽固”(obstinacy)，海军军演必须进行。

但从一些未经证实的报道来看，华盛顿和首尔方面可能会尽量调整演习计划，以免让北京感到不安。韩国《朝鲜日报》周二报道说，双方正在考虑把参与演习的较大型船只导向朝鲜半岛的东面，远离中国，以安抚北京的紧张情绪。近几个星期，北京反复强调说，它反对在中国大陆附近搞任何演习。但《朝鲜日报》的报道不知道是否准确，因为该报同时也说，有关军演的决定可能在周二做出，但这事没有发生。

中方还没有说这样一种调整是否会让它满意。周二的一场例行吹风会上，外交部发言人秦刚拒绝回答把军舰放在朝鲜半岛东面是否会让中国减少对演习的反感。

但前述美军发言人说，目前任何选项都没有排除。