中国驻英大使批评美国插手南海事务

A top Chinese diplomat has criticised the US over a “politically motivated” arbitration case that dismissed Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea, saying Washington wanted to use legal process to humiliate Beijing as its warships challenged Chinese sovereignty in the region.

中国一名高级外交官针对一起“出于政治动机的”仲裁案批评美国，称美国政府想要通过司法程序来羞辱中国政府，同时其军舰在地区挑战中国的主权。这起仲裁案不承认中国在南中国海的大部分主权主张。

The comments by Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador to London, yesterday came as Admiral John Richardson, the US Navy chief, called on Beijing and other Asian governments to “exercise thoughtfulness and restraint” after last week’s ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

中国驻英国大使刘晓明昨日发表这番言论之际，美国海军作战部长、海军上将约翰•理查森(Admiral John Richardson)呼吁中国和其他亚洲国家政府在上周海牙常设仲裁法院(Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague)作出裁决后表现出“体谅和克制”。

“There should be a big question about US behaviour in all of this . . . I think this arbitration case is politically motivated,” Mr Liu said.

“美国在这一切事态中的行为有很大问题……我认为这个仲裁案是有政治动机的，”刘晓明说。

“On the one hand they [the US] send their warships and airplanes to challenge China’s sovereignty and on the other they think this might be a good legal case launched . . . to try to humiliate China diplomatically, to damage China’s image and also give them a legal basis with which to challenge China.”

“一方面，他们（美国）派遣军舰和飞机来挑战中国的主权，另一方面，他们认为这可能是一个好的法律案件……试图在外交上羞辱中国，损害中国的形象，同时也给他们一个挑战中国的法律依据。”

Beijing reacted with fury to the verdict of the international tribunal, in a suit brought by the Philippines, which found there was “no legal basis” under the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea for China’s claims to more than 80 per cent of the South China Sea.

中国政府对这家国际仲裁庭的裁决作出了愤怒反应。仲裁庭在裁决中表示，根据《联合国海洋法公约》(UNCLOS)，中国声索南中国海80%以上疆域的主张“没有法律依据”。

Speaking in Beijing, Adm Richardson told the Financial Times: “We would expect that [China and the Philippines] would abide by the ruling . . . More than anything, the ruling gives all claimants to the South China Sea disputes a lot of reasons to stop and think.”

理查森上将在北京对英国《金融时报》表示：“我们将期待（中国和菲律宾）遵守裁决……比什么都重要的是，这项裁决给南中国海纠纷的所有当事方很多理由停下来思考。”

His appeal for calm followed reports by the official Xinhua news agency that construction by Beijing on man-made islands under its control would “never stop halfway”. Xinhua quoted a Chinese military spokesman as saying the air force had started regular patrols.

在理查森上将呼吁各方冷静之前，据中国官方的新华社报道，中国政府在其控制下的岛礁建造人工岛的活动“绝不会……半途而废”。新华社援引中国军方发言人的话称，中国空军已开始在南中国海上空定期巡逻。

US Navy spy aircraft have patrolled the Chinese coast for decades. In recent years the Pentagon has launched “freedom of navigation” exercises that Adm Richardson said were targeted at China’s “excessive maritime claims”.

美国海军侦察机在中国沿海上空巡逻已有几十年。近年五角大楼发起了“航行自由”行动，理查森上将称，这项行动是针对中国“过分的海上声索”。

But amid its denunciations of the tribunal as “illegitimate”, China has signalled a desire to manage tensions. Mr Liu said he hoped all countries with South China Sea coasts would come to the negotiating table and accept a Chinese proposal to shelve disputes and work towards joint development of the sea’s resources.

但是，在谴责仲裁庭“非法”的同时，中国也发出了有意管理紧张局势的信号。刘晓明表示，他希望南中国海周边所有国家都坐到谈判桌前，接受中国的搁置争议提议，致力于联合开发南海资源。

He added the government in Manila, led by Rodrigo Duterte, had an opportunity to create a “turning point” in China-Philippines relations by joining talks.

他补充说，由新总统罗德里戈•杜特尔特(Rodrigo Duterte)领导的菲律宾政府通过参加谈判，有一个创建中菲关系“转折点”的契机。

But, efforts towards such talks appeared to hit a snag yesterday when Perfecto Yasay, the Philippines foreign secretary, said he rejected any offer from China to engage in talks “outside of and in disregard” of the tribunal’s ruling. Such a course would not be consistent with Manila’s constitution interest, Mr Yasay told the ABS-CBN network.

但是，开启这种谈判的努力昨日碰了钉子。菲律宾外交部长佩费克托•雅赛(Perfecto Yasay)表示，他拒绝中方关于在“脱离且无视”仲裁庭裁决的情况下开展谈判的任何提议。雅赛对菲律宾ABS-CBN电视台表示，那种做法将不符合马尼拉方面的宪法利益。