【英语国际】美国：南海纠纷属于国际关注事务

Disputes in the South China Sea were of international concern, Robert Gates, US defence secretary, said yesterday, highlighting the rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over security in Asia.

Speaking in Hanoi, Mr Gates said Washington had a strong interest in maritime security in Asia, rejecting Beijing’s view that the territorial rows that have flared up in the past two years should be resolved with its neighbours bilaterally.

“We need multilateral institutions in order to confront the most important security challenges in the region,” he said in a speech at Vietnam National University.

But despite their differences, Mr Gates accepted an invitation from Liang Guanglie, the Chinese defence minister, to visit Beijing early next year, resuming a high-level military dialogue suspended by Beijing since the start of the year over US arms sales to Taiwan.

Mr Gates and Mr Liang met ahead of a key regional security summit in the Vietnamese capital today.

Regional tensions have been rising over a more aggressive diplomatic posture adopted by Beijing over its claims to the disputed Paracel and Spratly Islands – all or parts of which are also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. China also recently clashed with Japan over disputed island territories.

Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, angered Beijing in July by insisting that the dispute over the South China Sea was of strategic importance to Washington and offering to act as a mediator. Mr Gates and his Chinese counterpart did not discuss the matter during their meeting, according to Guan Youfei, a Chinese rear admiral and deputy director of the defence ministry’s foreign affairs office.

He said the meeting was “very short but also very candid and constructive” and “an important consensus was reached” on the need to “strengthen dialogue and communication and promote understanding and trust”.

Adm Guan said that the “strange, on again, off again cycle” in US-China military relations was largely the result of US arms sales to Taiwan.

He added that “the situation in the South China Sea is stable” and that it ought not to be discussed at the Hanoi summit. Defence ministers and officials from the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will meet their counterparts from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US in Hanoi today – the first regional security meeting to involve such a broad range of high-level participants.

In a press conference after their meeting, Mr Gates and Phung Quang Thanh, Vietnam’s defence minister, stressed the need to resolve any disputes through peaceful means and according to international law.

美国国防部长罗伯特?盖茨(Robert Gates)昨日表示，南海纠纷是国际关注的事务。此言突显美中在亚洲安全问题上的紧张不断加剧。

盖茨在河内发表讲话时表示，亚洲海上安全涉及美国的重大利益。此话拒绝了北京方面的观点，即过去两年爆发的领土争议，应当由中国与各个邻国在双边层面予以解决。

“为迎接本地区最重要的安全挑战，我们需要多边机构，”盖茨在越南河内国家大学(Vietnam National University, Hanoi)发表讲话时表示。

但尽管存在分歧，盖茨还是接受了中国国防部长梁光烈的邀请，将于明年初访问北京，恢复美中两军的高层对话。自今年初以来，北京方面因美国批准对台军售而暂停了这些交流。

盖茨和梁光烈的会晤，发生于今日在越南首都举行的一个关键的亚洲安全峰会前夕。

在有争议的西沙和南沙群岛领土主张问题上，围绕北京方面更加咄咄逼人的外交姿态，地区紧张局势近期一直在升级。文莱、马来西亚、菲律宾、台湾和越南也宣称对西沙和南沙群岛拥有全部或部分主权。中国最近还在有争议的钓鱼岛问题上与日本发生冲突。

美国国务卿希拉里?克林顿(Hillary Clinton)在7月份激怒了北京方面。当时她坚称，南海纠纷对美国具有战略重要性，并提出美国愿意扮演调停人角色。据中国海军少将、国防部外事办公室副主任关友飞介绍，盖茨与梁光烈会晤期间并未讨论这方面的事宜。

关友飞称，会谈非常简短，但又非常坦率和富有建设性；对于加强对话和沟通、增进理解和信任的必要性，中美双方达成了重要共识。

关友飞表示，美中两军关系奇特的时谈时停周期，在很大程度上是美国对台军售的结果。

他补充称，南海局势是稳定的，这不应该成为河内峰会的讨论议题。今日，东盟(ASEAN) 10个成员国的国防部长及官员将与澳大利亚、中国、印度、日本、新西兰、韩国、俄罗斯和美国的同僚在河内开会，这是首次有如此广泛的高层参加者出席的地区安全会议。

盖茨和越南国防部长冯光青(Phung Quang Thanh)在会谈后举行的记者会上强调，需要以和平方式和根据国际法解决任何纠纷。

译者/和风