WASHINGTON: After five months of hints, declarations, mixedmessages, and dithering,the US is reportedlyset to challenge Chineseclaims in the South China Sea.

华盛顿：在经历了五个月的暗示，宣称，矛盾信息和犹豫后，据报道美国将挑战中国在南海上的声明。

But the months of signaling will cost us.What might have been a low-key “freedom of navigation operation” — sailing, flying,or training in disputed areas to set a legal precedent for access — maywell get a lot more complicated because of the buildup.

但是这几个月的拖延将让我们付出代价。本来可以低调的“自由航行行动”——航行，飞行，或者在有争议的海域训练，从而设立自由航行的合法先例——可能会因为中国在南海的造岛而变得更加的复杂。

“[I’m] still waiting to see it before Ibelieve it,” one Senate staffersaid. (The Pentagon declined to comment when we asked for confirmation). “It’slong overdue, and the long delay has made it a bigger deal than it actuallyis.”

“眼见为实，”一名参议院采访记者如是说。（当我们向五角大楼确认时，五角大楼拒绝发表评论）。“真是姗姗来迟，而拖延了这么久后，使得事情变得更加复杂了。”

 

 

“I do think we have paid a price [fordelaying], mostly in terms of confusing everybody aboutwhy freedomof navigation operations take place,” said Bonnie Glaser,director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic &International Studies, who recently returned from her latest trip toChina. “There are many people that I have spoken to in China who view thisas a challenge to Chinese sovereignty, which it is not, or who viewit as a provocation, which it also is not.”

“我认为我们确实因为拖延而付出了代价，主要是人们感到迷惑为什么美国要在南海展开自由航行行动呢，”战略与国际问题研究中心中国力量投射部主任BonnieGlaser说。“我在中国时和很多人交流过，他们认为这是对中国主权的挑战，实际上并非如此，或者有人将此视为挑衅，但事实也并非如此。”

“People in official positions” in China arereportedly saying that the People’s Liberation Army should open fire at USforces if they enter the 12 nautical mile zone around artificial islands in theSouth China Sea, said retired Navy Commander Bryan Clark.(Under international law, such manmade landmasses do not confersovereignty on those who build them). World War III is not going tohappen, happily, he said, but the bellicose talk showshowmuch pressure Chinese policymakers are under.

据报道，中国的一些官员称如果美军进入中国南海人造岛屿12海里范围内的话解放军就应该向他们开火，退休海军指挥官 Bryan Clark如是说。（在国际法下，这样的人造岛屿并不能让建岛者享有岛屿的主权）。他说，第三次世界大战不会发生，但是中国官员的这些好战言论表明了中国政策制定者所面临的压力有多大。

 

 

“TheObama administration has put themselves in a worse positionstrategically,” said Clark, now at the Center forStrategic and Budgetary Assessments. “It was all because the US delayed.”Normal freedom of navigation operations are quiet exercises in setting legalprecedents — we can sail through this area, we can fly here, we can conductoperations — but five months of public uncertainty has made this one a bigdeal, he said.

“奥巴马政府让自己处在了一个糟糕的战略位置上，”现在在战略与预算评估中心工作的Clark如是说。“这都是因为美国一直在拖延，”正常的航行自由行动是一种非常安静的设立合法先例的举动——我们可以航行通过这片海域，我们可以飞到那里去，我们可以在那里展开行动——但是在这5个月期间所展现出公共不确定后，这次的行动就变成了一个大事件，他说。

“The US could have done much better by simplydoing the exercise without saying anything about it, and China could haveresponded probably at a much lower level,” Clark told me.Now, “it forces China to react in order to save face [and] be able to argue totheir people they didn’t take this lying down.”

“美国本可以默默的去那里航行而不用说七道八，这样才是更好的处理方式，这样中国也能以低调的方式来应对美国的航行，”Clark对我如是说。现在，“中国为了挽回面子不得不采取行动，这样他们才能向自己的人民交代说中国有作出反抗。”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roger Roger ? a day ago
I am sure that this was discussed duringXi's visit. The US will press the issue and China will balk after much protestand may even call for some serious South China Sea negotiations. Like thePresident said it is for the nations of the region to decide. We just need toencourage the participants. This is not a casual stroll through the area I betthat there is a massive unseen and unreported show of force guaranteeing thesafety of the Lassen and the two accompanying aircraft. The Navy does not wanta repeat of the Pueblo crises or the near crises when a Chinese fightercollided with a US P 3 early in the Bush Administration nor do the Chinese.China's current economic situation would not well tolerate a decline in exportsto the US of even a few per cent. Sounds like pretty good timing to me butObama will never get credit for it unless something goes wrong. God bless oursailors and keep them safe.

我相信在习近平访美期间这个问题被讨论过。美国将就这个问题继续施压，而中国在面对大量抗议后将犹豫起来并最终可能呼吁进行严肃的南海协商。就像总统所说的这个问题要由该区域的国家决定。我们需要鼓励这些参与者。我相信这不是一次随便的航行，美国肯定派去了大量的军力以保护拉森号和一同前往的那两架飞机，只不过我们不知道或者没被报道出来而已。美国海军可不想再看到"普韦布洛"号危机的重演，也不想看到南海撞机事件的重演，中国人也不想。就中国目前的经济情况来看，他们无法忍受对美国出口的减少，即使只减少几个百分点。在我看来这个时机还真是相当好，但是奥巴马将不会因此受到好评，除非出了什么意外。上帝保佑我们的水兵，保护他们的安全。

BW ? 17 hours ago
Sailing a warship within 12 NM isn't achallenge of sovereignty; it's called innocent passage. It's what the Chinesedid off Alaska.
If we want to challenge sovereignty, let'shave our ships conduct operations which are prohibited under the right ofinnocent passage. In other words, don't just sail past. Have the ship circlethe feature, conduct a gunnery shoot from within 12 miles (seaward of course),launch a helo from the ship and have it fly over...or even land on...thereclaimed feature. We have the best damn Navy in the world - let's stop actinglike a ballerina and flex our muscles a bit!

将战舰开到12海里范围内，这并非对主权的挑战；这叫做无害通过。之前中国军舰在阿拉斯加附近也是这样做的。
如果我们想挑战他们的主权，那可以让我们的战舰开展行动，因为在无害通过权利的规定下，这种行为是禁止的。换言之，不仅仅是航行通过那么简单。让我们的舰艇围绕岛屿航行，在12海里范围内开炮（当然是朝海的方向射击），从舰上起飞直升机并飞跃岛屿，或者降落上在岛屿上。我们拥有世界上最好的海军——所以我们不要再像芭蕾舞女一样了，展示出我们的一点肌肉吧！

No Sailing Here Please  BW ? 8 hours ago
But ripping off the north American plains(land) from the Red Injun Nations was never something innocent !!! Neitherinnocent was the forced transfer of South Pacific islanders from their homes inthe Pacifc and/or the mass expulsion of natives from Diego Garcia.
Yet the best damn Navy in the world has thegall to whine about those tiny unihabited islets in the South China Sea.
The best way to deal with the whining is tohit back in Afghanistan; whine that the US-installed drug-powered fake puppetregime in Kabul is illegitimate.

但是从印第安人那里窃取大量的北美土地也并非是无罪的！！！还有强行将南太平洋岛屿上的岛民迁移出去或者强行将迪戈加西亚岛（印度洋）上的土著驱逐出去的做法也并非是无罪的。
而你们所谓的世界最强海军竟然对南海上无人居住的岛屿发牢骚。
对付牢骚的最好方法就是去阿富汗战斗；可以抱怨美国扶持的贩毒伪傀儡阿富汗政权是非法的。

Tim ? 5 hours ago
Not sure if US still can have 38 billionChinese order for Boeing aircraft.

不能肯定美国是否还能让中国人支付380亿美元购买波音飞机。

KLD ? 14 hours ago
I wonder how much more 'ole Obama and hisadministration will do to embarrass the United States in the eyes of the worldbefore his term is up?

我不知道奥巴马政府在下台之前还会在全世界面前做出多少的事情来让美国丢脸？

Change60 ? 14 hours ago
"Center for a New AmericanSecurity.", this group is the farm team for the Obama Administration. Theyfaithfully back whatever the administration is doing because the Obama Adminfunds them with studies and hires their people. Keep that in mind whenconsidering their ideas.
Obama's purposes are quite clear. Donothing to get the US involved in any sort of military rivalry with China orRussia. Keep a lid on US defense spending. Shrink the US sphere of influence.

“新美国安全中心“，这个组织是奥巴马政府的预备队。他们忠诚的支持奥巴马政府的一切举动，因为奥巴马政府给他们提供资金，并且雇佣他们的人。所以在听他们说话时一定要想到这一点。
奥巴马的意图相当明显。

harley art.us ? 16 hours ago
Don't be surprised when the Chinese andRussians set up camp off our shores including the Gulf of Mexico...China andRussia have the Means to counter anyone...the days of us the USA Making All TheCalls Is Over With...We had better Focus on Our Border With Narco Mexico/South America..WeHad Better Use Deadly Force on Our Narco Mexican Border to Protect the USA FromNarco Gangs Flowing into the USA...They are Here and Probably waiting fororders...these South American Narco Gangs are Trained By White Militants andthey Have a Mission...Wake Up America or Die In Your Sleep..

当俄罗斯和中国在我们岸边安营扎寨时不要感到惊讶，包括在墨西哥湾附近。。。中国和俄罗斯有对付任何人的方法。。。一切由我们美国发号施令的日子已经一去不复返了。。我们最好将我们最致命的部队部署在墨西哥边境以防止毒贩进入美国。。他们已经在美国，可能正在等待订单。。。这些南美贩毒集团受到白人武装分子的训练，他们有使命在身。。醒醒吧美国，要不然你就要在梦中死去了。

Born-in-Nairobi ? a day ago
This brazen action by the U.S. Navy issimilar to the reckless actions of the U.S. Navy during the 1980s when italleged that the Gulf of Sidra was not recognised as Libyan waters. The result? Several bloody hell bombing / shooting incidents. The U.S. never learnsanything useful. Must be due to the caveman mentality pervading the Navy.
Now, should the Chinese Navy step forwardand state that the U.S. occupation of Diego Garcia ( located south of India'scoast) is not recognised (i.e. illegal) and therefore it has the right to sailround and round the island ? No ? ? ?

美国海军这次厚颜无耻的行为就好比他们在80年代的做法，当时他们称锡德拉湾（位于北非利比亚的北方）不被承认为利比亚的海域。结果呢？发生了几件血腥的轰炸和射击事件。美国从来没有学过任何有用的东西。肯定是蔓延于美国海军中的野人心智导致的。
现在，中国海军应该站出来说美国对迪戈加西亚岛（印度洋）的占领是非法的因此中国海军有权利到那个岛屿的周围去航行吗？没有这个权利吗？？？

Jeepslave Born-in-Nairobi ? 4 hours ago
People who yell the loudest oftentimes havethe weakest argument

那些叫的最大声的人通常都是最虚的。

Michael Rich  Born-in-Nairobi ? 18 hours ago
Diego Garcia is not a man built island,it's an actual territory recognized by international law; unlike the Chinesebuilt islands.
Oh yeah the US Navy is soooo stupid, godhelp us if we abide by international law, OH THE HUMANITY.

迪戈加西亚岛（印度洋）并非人造岛屿，而且受到了国际法的承认；不像中国人建造的这些人造岛屿。
是吖，美国海军太蠢了，如果我们遵守国际法，那真是谢天谢地了。啊，人性的，太人性了。