Impeccable, a US navy surveillance ship

By Kathrin Hille in Shanghai 2009-08-28

China has called on the US to phase out its military surveillance missions close to China's coast, in Beijing's clearest indication so far that it will not tolerate US dominance indefinitely in an area it views as its strategic sphere of influence.

The remarks came after two days of negotiations on maritime safety between military officials from both sides following a series of confrontations between US and Chinese ships in waters off the Chinese coast earlier this year.

“The way to resolve China-US maritime incidents is for the US to change its surveillance and survey operations policies against China, decrease and eventually stop such operations,” Xinhua, the official news agency, quoted the Ministry of National Defence as saying.

Washington has made public six incidents in the Yellow Sea and the South China Sea in which it said Chinese ships harassed US vessels in a way that risked the safety of both sides.

The two countries have had a Military Maritime Consultative Agreement since 1998, which was supposed to help to prevent and solve such incidents. But the US has complained that China keeps ignoring the “rules of the road” while at sea.

One incident in March occurred 75 miles south of Hainan island, where China keeps its most advanced submarine fleet. The US said the Impeccable, a US navy surveillance ship, had been harassed by a group of Chinese trawlers, coast guard and navy vessels.

Washington, like most other western nations, holds the view that the convention allows all international sea traffic in countries' 200-mile exclusive economic zones except for those ships that are attempting to prospect for resources. All international ships must, however, ask for permission when they are entering waters within 12 miles of a nation's coast.

Beijing said the Impeccable's trip violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and Chinese laws and regulations because the ship had been inside China's EEZ without Beijing's approval. However, China avoided making general demands over US behaviour.

Chinese military officials have also in the past steered clear of confronting the US over its influence in Asia. They have sometimes even suggested that the two could coexist.

Yesterday's declaration, however, suggests that China is moving closer to scenarios long painted by defence experts under which it becomes more assertive and starts drawing lines for the US military.

附译文供对照参考：

        英国《金融时报》席佳琳(Kathrin Hille)上海报道 2009-08-28

        中国呼吁美国逐步停止在靠近中国海岸的区域执行军事侦察任务，这是北京方面迄今发出的最为明确的信号，表明中国在自己视为战略势力范围的区域，不会永远容忍美国的霸权。

        中方是在中美就海上军事安全进行了两天磋商后发表此番言论的。今年早些时候，两国舰船在中国海岸外发生了一系列对峙事件。

        “美方调整舰机侦察政策，减少直至停止舰机侦察活动，是解决中美海空军事安全问题的根本方法，”官方的新华社援引国防部的声明称。

         华盛顿方面公布了在黄海和南海发生的6起事件，称中方舰船以危及双方安全的方式骚扰美方船舶。

        中美两国早在1998年就签订了《海上安全磋商协议》(Military Maritime Consultation Agreement)，该协议理应有助于防止和解决此类事件。但美方抱怨称，中方在海上一直忽视“交通规则”。

        3月份的一起事件发生在海南岛以南75英里处。海南岛是中国最先进潜艇的基地。美方表示，美国海军测量船“无瑕号”(Impeccable)遭到中方多艘拖网渔船、渔政船和海军船舶的骚扰。

        与多数西方国家一样，美国政府的立场是，依照惯例，一国海岸外200海里范围内的专属经济区，应该允许国际海上交通，只要外来船舶不是企图勘探资源。不过，任何外来船舶在进入距离一国海岸12海里范围的水域时，都必须请求许可。

        中国政府表示，“无瑕号”的航行违反了《联合国海洋法公约》(UNCLOS)和中国法律法规，因为该船未经中国政府批准就进入中国专属经济区海域。然而，中国避免了对美方的行为提出总体要求。

        中国军方官员过去也避免挑战美国在亚洲的影响力。有时候，他们甚至表示，双方能够共存。

        但昨日的宣示似乎表明，中国正趋向变得更为自信，开始为美军划定底线，这正是防务专家们长期设想的情景。

        译者/和风