美防长马蒂斯试图团结东盟抗衡中国

US defence secretary Jim Mattis will try to unite Southeast Asian countries against China during a meeting of defence ministers in the Philippines on Monday, as President Donald Trump prepares to send a strong message to challenge Beijing.

周一，美国国防部长吉姆•马蒂斯(Jim Mattis)将设法在于菲律宾举行的国防部长会议上团结东南亚各国抗衡中国。眼下美国总统唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)正准备发出强硬信号来挑战北京方面。

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has frequently been fragmented as the US and China jockey for influence. This has been magnified by a dispute over artificial islands in the South China Sea that China has built and equipped with military installations.

东盟(ASEAN)经常被在该地区争夺影响力的中美两国搞得四分五裂。中国在南中国海建造并部署了军事设施的人工岛屿所引发的争端，进一步加剧了这一事态。

At the same time the US has lost influence in the region after Mr Trump appeared to give his predecessor’s “pivot to Asia” short shrift, cancelling a trade pact that the region had spent years working towards.

与此同时，特朗普似乎并不重视其前任的“重返亚洲”(pivot to Asia)战略，让美国退出了该地区耗费多年时间努力达成的一项贸易协定，此后，美国在东南亚的影响力迅速下降。

“[Asean gives] voice to those who want relations between states to be based on respect, and not on predatory economics or on the size of militaries,” Mr Mattis told reporters ahead of meetings in the Philippines, without mentioning China by name. “The United States remains unambiguously committed to supporting Asean.”

“(东盟让)那些希望国家间关系基于尊重——而非基于掠夺性经济原则或军队规模——的国家发出了声音，”马蒂斯会前在菲律宾向记者们表示(他未点名提到中国)，“美国仍毫不含糊地致力于支持东盟。”

The US wants to develop a united front in Asean as a bulwark against China, which pursues individual bilateral relations with members at the expense of the bloc. It also wants Asean countries to work together to squeeze North Korea, whose nuclear ambitions have alarmed the US.

美国希望在东盟打造一条统一战线，作为抗衡中国的堡垒。中国追求与单个成员国的双边关系的做法，损害了东盟整体的利益。美国还希望东盟国家共同向朝鲜施压，后者的核野心令美国惊慌。

Mr Mattis’s comments echo those last week of US secretary of state Rex Tillerson, who promoted a vision of India as a democratic, populous counterweight to China and invited it to take on a leading security role in the Indo-Pacific region. The US has made India a major defence partner and is offering it a shopping list of top-flight weapon systems. Mr Mattis will meet India’s defence minister during his trip this week.

马蒂斯的言论与上周美国国务卿雷克斯•蒂勒森(Rex Tillerson)的言论相呼应，后者描绘了印度成为可与中国相抗衡的人口众多的民主国家的愿景，并邀请印度在印度洋-太平洋地区的安全事务方面扮演主要角色。美国已经将印度定位为自己的主要防务伙伴之一，并计划为其供应一系列一流武器。马蒂斯将在本周亚洲之行期间与印度国防部长会晤。

He was due to hold an informal meeting later on Monday with Asean members, who have prevaricated over taking a joint strong position over the South China Sea. They have made no mention of a 2016 ruling in The Hague that found no legal basis for China’s territorial claims to the artificial islands.

他计划于周一晚些时候与东盟成员国举行非正式会晤。东盟一直没有就在南中国海问题上联合采取强硬立场明确表态，一直没有提及海牙在2016年做出的一项裁决，该裁决认定中国对人造岛屿的领土主张缺乏法律依据。

While Cambodia and Laos tend to fall within China’s orbit, US ally Thailand, Vietnam and until recently the Philippines have sided against China.

柬埔寨和老挝往往站在中国一边，而美国的盟友泰国以及越南和菲律宾全都反对中国——菲律宾直到不久前才改变了这一立场。

But under President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines’ relationship with the US has soured. President Barack Obama cancelled a meeting in September last year after Mr Duterte described him on national television as a “son of a bitch”.

在罗德里戈•杜特尔特(Rodrigo Duterte)担任菲律宾总统期间，菲律宾与美国的关系出现了恶化。去年杜特尔特在全国电视节目上辱骂时任美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)“婊子养的”，之后奥巴马取消了同年9月与杜特尔特会晤的计划。

Mr Trump has sought to draw closer to Mr Duterte, who is sometimes called “the Trump of Asia” and is known for his loose remarks and a bloody crackdown on suspected drug dealers. But even Mr Trump’s overtures to a man many abhor as a human rights abuser have at times been rebuffed.

特朗普一直寻求与杜特尔特拉近关系，但即便是特朗普的示好有时也会碰一鼻子灰。杜特尔特有时被人称作“亚洲的特朗普”，并以讲话口无遮拦以及血腥镇压贩毒嫌疑人而著称。许多人憎恨杜特尔特，认为他践踏人权。

Mr Duterte, whose country still participates in joint military exercises with the US despite threats to cancel them, described the US as a “lousy” place in July and said he would not accept Mr Trump’s invitation to visit the White House. The White House has nevertheless confirmed that Mr Trump is due to visit Manila, home to Trump Tower Manila, as part of his 12-day regional tour next month, at which he will meet Asean leaders.

菲律宾威胁过要取消与美国的联合军事演习，不过目前仍会参加。今年7月，杜特尔特声称美国是个“极糟”的地方，他不会接受特朗普向他发出的访问白宫的邀请。不过白宫已证实特朗普将访问马尼拉。下月特朗普将对亚洲进行为期12天的访问，会晤东盟各国领导人，而马尼拉将是其中一站。特朗普马尼拉大厦(Trump Tower Manila)就坐落在这个城市。

The Philippines last year declared a new friendship with China, having previously accused it of seizing a disputed shoal in 2012, and this month accepted a new delivery of armaments.

菲律宾以前指责中国在2012年占据了中菲之间存在争议的一处浅滩，去年却宣布与中国建立新的友谊，本月还接收了一批中方新交付的武器。

But the US has also stepped up its support of Mr Duterte’s efforts to overcome Islamist fighters in Mindanao, a largely Muslim island to which the US laid siege in 1906, providing surveillance, intelligence, training and supplies to help Mr Duterte's government retake the city of Marawi, which the US said had attracted Isis militants fleeing from Syria and Iraq.

不过美国也加大了力度支持杜特尔特打击棉兰老岛的伊斯兰主义武装分子，菲律宾政府收复马拉维市(Marawi)的行动中，美方提供了监控、情报、训练和补给方面的帮助。棉兰老岛是一个以穆斯林人口为主的岛屿，1906年美国曾围困该岛。根据美方的说法，一些从叙利亚和伊拉克逃出的伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国(ISIS)武装分子流入了该岛的马拉维市。

Mr Mattis will meet his counterparts from Japan and South Korea on Monday to discuss North Korea and what he described as “the regional security crisis” provoked by its nuclear ambitions. He is also due to visit Thailand and South Korea on his eight-day tour.

马蒂斯将于周一与日本和韩国国防部长会晤，讨论朝鲜问题以及他所谓的朝鲜核野心引发的“地区安全危机”。他还计划在其为期8天的行程中访问泰国和韩国。