2015年CRI Experts: US Should Stay away from South China Sea Dispute

 

The dispute over the South China Sea gained emphasis.

Fan Changlong told Ashton Carter that the US should reduce its naval¹ and air activities in the area, saying the construction works in the Nansha Islands are within China's sovereignty.

Doug Bandow, a foreign policy analyst² at the Washington-based think tank the Cato Institute, suggests the US not get involved in this issue.

"I don't view this as being primarily an American issue. So I don't see this being primarily an issue for the U.S. military. But this is primarily an issue for Beijing and for countries in the region. It really is not one where the U.S. should want to get militarily involved, especially in the idea of a confrontational³ relationship with China."

The former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan also says the U.S. should be encouraging its allies to lower the temperature.

"Both Japan and the Philippines, when they're working with China, should look for ways to reduce the confrontation⁴, find ways to talk about this."

During their talks, Fan Changlong also proposed the countries' militaries establish a new kind of relationship featuring "mutual⁵ trust, cooperation, non-conflict and sustainability."

The two sides also signed a new agreement which will create a direct communications link between the military forces of both sides.

Zhao Xiaozhuo with the Academy of Military Science says enhanced interactions can benefit the development of the China-U.S. military-to-military relationship.

"I think the exchange of high-level visits have special meanings for enhancing bilateral⁶ military ties. The benign⁷ interactions have a unique and indispensable significance for improving mutual trust. Besides high-level visits, the functional⁸ departments of the two sides, including strategic planning departments, ground forces and navies, think tanks and academies also have a great deal of exchanges. All these are beneficial to the development of military-to-military relationship."

Zhao believes the military cooperation between the two sides will extend from the sea to the sky amid the bilateral effort to cement mutual trust.

After a summit between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama last November, the two sides announced the Code for Unplanned Air or Maritime⁹ Encounters, aiming to prevent accidents at sea or in the sky.

Zhao says even though the code is currently only applied¹⁰ to warships¹¹, the two countries will further explore areas for cooperation.

"It was mainly between warships last year. There will be rules between warplanes this year. Meanwhile, the rules are evolving. I think these mechanism¹² and rules can help greatly reduce crises or accidents."

Fan Changlong is the most senior Chinese military leader to travel to Washington since President Xi Jinping took office in late 2012.

As part of his time in the US, Fan is also scheduled to hold meetings with other senior US officials at the White House and State Department.

His week-long trip has seen him make stops at the Boeing factory in Seattle, as well as US military installations in California and Texas.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

1 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

4 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

5 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

6 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

7 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

8 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

9 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

12 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。