The US military has carried out its threat to fly over contested islands in the South China Sea, in a dramatic escalation of tensions over the Chinese government’s land reclamation in the area.
美国践行了此前的威胁，飞越了南中国海(South China Sea)有争议岛屿的上空，令该地区围绕中国政府领土诉求的紧张局势急剧升温。
A US Navy surveillance jet was warned to turn away by the Chinese navy as it approached Fiery Cross Reef, according to a CNN team that was invited aboard the flight. “This is the Chinese navy,” the English-language transmission said, according to an account by CNN on Thursday morning. “Please go away . . . to avoid misunderstanding.”
美国有线新闻网(CNN)一个团队受邀登上了一架美国海军的监控巡逻飞机。根据该团队的说法，这架飞机曾在接近永暑礁(Fiery Cross Reef)时，收到中国海军要求该飞机转向的警告。周四早上，按照CNN一个账号的说法，当时飞机收到的英语广播表示：“这里是中国海军。请立刻返航……以避免误判。”The P8-A Poseidon aircraft passed over the reef, where Chinese construction teams are building an airfield and other installations, at about 15,000 feet on Wednesday afternoon.
根据CNN的报道，周三下午，这架P-8A海神反潜机(P-8A Poseidon)在大约1.5万英尺的高度飞过永暑礁上空。在永暑礁，中国的建筑团队正在修建一座机场以及其他设施。
US officials had previously warned they were considering air and navy patrols within the 12 nautical mile territorial limit of islets and reefs on which China has been building new infrastructure.
在此之前，美国官员曾警告说，对于中国一直在修建新的基础设施的小岛和礁石，他们正考虑对其12海里领海范围内开展空军及海军巡逻。A US naval officer aboard the P8-A told CNN that “we see this every day” as the aircraft flew above Chinese dredgers, suggesting Wednesday’s overflight was not the first.
在飞机从中国的挖泥船上空飞过时，该P-8A反潜机上的一名美国海军军官告诉CNN“我们每天都会看到这些”。这句话意味着周三这次越境飞行的行为不是首次发生。But John Kerry, US secretary of state, dodged the issue during a press conference with his Chinese counterpart on May 16. At the same briefing, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi warned that “China’s determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity is as firm as a rock”.
不过，在5月16日和中国外长共同召开的记者招待会上，美国国务卿约翰•克里(John Kerry)回避了这个问题。当时，中国外长王毅曾警告说“中方维护自身主权、领土完整的意志坚如磐石，不容质疑”。Mr Wang also emphasised that Beijing was committed to a peaceful resolution of its territorial disputes, principally with the Philippines and Vietnam, in the area and shared Washington’s commitment to freedom of navigation.
王毅还强调说，中国政府致力于和平解决该地区的领土争端——主要是与菲律宾和越南之间的领土争端。他还表示，中美都致力于维护南海和平与稳定，保障国际法赋予的航行自由。The Chinese government maintains that its “island-building” activities are within the scope of its sovereignty, and says it is merely catching up with rivals that have also built airfields and other infrastructure on islets and reefs under their control.
中国政府坚称“填海造岛”活动是在其主权范围内开展的，并表示中国的对手也在它们控制的岛屿和礁石上修建机场及其他基础设施，中国只不过是在追随他们的做法。“This is China’s reaction to provocative actions by other parties,” said Jin Canrong, an international relations expert at Beijing’s Renmin University. “We have simply repeated what everybody else was already doing.”
北京的中国人民大学(Renmin University)的国际关系专家金灿荣表示：“这是中国对其他方面挑衅行为的回应。我们只是重复了所有人已经在做的事。”US spy planes also routinely patrol China’s coast, where they are often tailed by jet fighters from the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. The Pentagon released a video of what it called a dangerous PLA intercept in August, which evoked memories of an April 2001 collision between a US spy plane and Chinese jet fighter near Hainan island.
美国侦察飞机也在定期沿中国海岸线巡逻。在中国海岸线附近，解放军空军往往会出动战斗机尾随这些飞机。美国五角大楼(Pentagon)曾公布一个视频，并表示视频中显示了今年8月解放军一次危险的拦截动作。该视频令人想起了2001年4月份一架美国侦察飞机和中国战斗机在海南岛附近发生的撞机事件。The Chinese pilot died in that incident and the US air crew were held for two weeks after their damaged aircraft made an emergency landing on Hainan.
中方的飞行员在那次事故中丧生，而美方机组人员则在受损飞机紧急迫降在海南之后，被中方扣押了两周。