【英语国际】黄海会成为美国海军的禁区吗？

Is the U.S. about to set a precedent that could alter the way its navy operates in the far western Pacific?

That's what some U.S. analysts fear-and many in China are hoping for-after Washington announced that it will hold a portion of planned joint naval operations with South Korea in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, and not entirely in the Yellow Sea between Korea and China, where they were originally expected to talk place.

Analysts had speculated that this meant the U.S. planned to deploy the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the Sea of Japan to avoid upsetting China, which has vehemently objected to the idea of the aircraft carrier operating in the Yellow Sea-even though the U.S. navy has long done operations there.

And indeed, South Korean Vice Defense Minister Chang Soo-man told the Associated Press that the exercises will go ahead in the 'near future,' and said a U.S. aircraft carrier would only be deployed to the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean peninsula. U.S. officials would not confirm Chang's comments.

The concern of some analysts is that refraining from sending the George Washington to the Yellow Sea will make it harder for the navy to operate in waters near China as freely as in years past, and turn every potential deployment into a subject of bilateral debate. Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum, a Hawaii-based arm of the Washington think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Wall Street Journal the navy needs to assert its presence in the Yellow Sea by at least making a port call at Incheon, on the west coast of South Korea.

'We are setting a bad precedent and allowing China to expand its definition of core interests, making it more difficult and controversial next time we go to [the] Yellow Sea,' he said.

The U.S.-South Korea naval drills were intended as a display of bilateral unity against a belligerent North Korea after the March Cheonan incident. The drills have been delayed since June, following repeated objections by China that military drills in the Yellow Sea would further destabilize the region.

Some in China also see a precedent in the possible decision not to deploy the George Washington in the Yellow Sea-and they are celebrating. On Friday, the Global Times, a popular state-run newspaper that often runs nationalist fare, ran an editorial arguing that this case is a turning point in how the U.S. Navy operates near China. The editorial argued that the Yellow Sea should be seen as a 'boundary marker' in the Pentagon's future decision making. 'The Chinese people's endurance is not a spring that can be pressed over and over,' it said.

The Navy's presence in the Yellow Sea isn't new, nor has China previously so vehemently opposed U.S. operations there, U.S. officials say. But China's efforts to rid its coastal waters of U.S. influence are not new, having manifested themselves several times in recent years. Last year, the Pentagon complained after a group of Chinese vessels aggressively challenged an unarmed U.S. naval surveillance ship in international waters off China's southern coast. In 2001, a Chinese fighter jet intercepted and collided with a U.S. surveillance plane. The Chinese jet crashed and the U.S. plane was forced to making an emergency landing.

Even though U.S. operations in the Yellow Sea would take place in international waters, China challenges that foreign military ships should not operate in what the U.N. has designated the country's 'exclusive economic zone.' The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea gives countries territorial waters of 12 nautical miles and economic zones of 200 nautical miles. While foreign ships can operate in the economic zones, China has argued that doesn't apply to foreign military ships. Few other countries share China's view about coastal waters.

While the George Washington may be headed to the Sea of Japan, the U.S. has made clear a portion of the exercises will still take place in the Yellow Sea. Even if this case marks a turning point in how the U.S. navy operates near China, its unlikely the military will begin viewing the Yellow Sea as off-limits. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said at a briefing this week that the military's decision to operate in international waters is not a decision to be made by other countries. 'Those determinations are made by us, and us alone,' he said.

Associated Press美国海军乔治•华盛顿号航空母舰美国是否就要开创一个先例，进而有可能改变其海军在太平洋远西地区的活动方式？

这是美国部分分析人士所担心的，也是中国的很多分析人士所希望的。此前华盛顿宣布，计划中和韩国联合举行的海军军事演习，将有一部分在日本海举行，而不是像原先预计的那样，全部都在朝鲜半岛与中国之间的黄海举行。

分析人士曾猜测，这意味着美国打算把乔治•华盛顿号核动力航空母舰(USS George Washington)部署在日本海，以免让中国感到不安。虽然美国海军在黄海活动已经有过很长的历史，但中国对于华盛顿号航母在这个水域活动的想法表示了强烈的反对。

而事实上，韩国国防部副部长张秀万就对美联社(Associated Press)说，演习会在不远的将来进行，并说一艘美国航母只会被部署在位于朝鲜半岛东部的日本海。美国官员拒绝就张秀万的言论置评。

部分分析人士的担心是，不把华盛顿号派往黄海，将使美国海军更难像过去几年那样在中国附近的水域自由活动，并把每一次可能进行的部署都变成了双边辩论的话题。华盛顿智库战略与国际研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies)驻夏威夷的分支机构太平洋论坛(Pacific Forum)主席科萨(Ralph Cossa)对《华尔街日报》说，至少应该让华盛顿号在韩国西海岸上的仁川港停靠一下，以展示美国海军在黄海的存在。

他说，我们正在开启一个不好的先例，并允许中国扩大它对核心利益的定义，这样，下一次我们去黄海的时候就会更加困难，更容易引起争议。

美韩海军军演本是为了在3月份天安号事件发生后，在好战的朝鲜面前展示两国之间的团结。军演原先定在6月份进行，但后来被推迟，原因是中国一再表示反对，说在黄海举行军演会进一步危害地区的稳定。

中国一些人也觉得，美国可能决定不把华盛顿号部署在黄海，是开创了一个先例。他们为此欢呼雀跃。热门官方报纸、常常用民族主义飨宴读者的《环球时报》发表社论认为，这一案例是美国海军改变在中国周边活动方式的一个转折点。社论说，“黄海应当成为五角大楼未来决策的一座界桩”，美国不要以为，“中国人的忍耐力就是可以一压再压的弹簧”。

美国官员说，美国海军在黄海的存在不是新鲜事，中国在过去也没有如此强烈地反对美国在黄海的活动。但中国让其近海水域免受美国影响的努力不是最近才有的，这几年他们曾多次表达过自己的立场。去年在中国南部海岸线附近的公海，一队中国船只大胆接近美国海军一艘非武装侦察船，引起五角大楼的不满。2001年，中国一架战斗机拦截一架美国侦察飞机，与之相撞。中国这架战机坠毁，美国侦察机被迫紧急着陆。

尽管美军在黄海的活动将在公海进行，但中国认为，外国军舰不应该在联合国指定的中国“专属经济区”活动。根据1982年通过的《联合国海洋法公约》(United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)，各国领土12海里内为领海，200海里内为经济区。外国船只可以在经济区活动，但中国曾主张，这并不适用于外国军舰。其他国家很少在近海水域的问题上和中国持一样的观点。

华盛顿号或许会前往日本海，但美国已经明确，部分演习还是会在黄海举行。就算这件事是美国海军在中国附近活动方式的一个转折点，它也不太可能开始把黄海视为禁入区。五角大楼发言人莫瑞尔(Geoff Morrell)上周在一次吹风会上说，军方在公海活动的决定不是由其他国家来定的。他说，这些决定由我们做出，而且只由我们做出。