VOA标准英语2009年-Gates to Meet New Japanese Leaders, Talk S

By Al Pessin
Washington
18 October 2009

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Robert Gates heads to Japan and South Korea this week with North Korea's nuclear and missile programs and the new Japanese government's defense policies high on the agenda. The visits come just a couple of weeks before President Barack Obama will visit the two countries. 

 
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates (File) 
Defense officials say the secretary's first stop, Tokyo, will be partly an opportunity to get to know Japan's new leaders. But Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell says serious issues will be discussed related to the new government's decision to end a refueling mission for alliance ships supplying the international effort in Afghanistan and its concerns about plans to relocate some U.S. forces in Japan.

"Obviously, I think both those issues will be subject for discussion as the secretary meets with the new Japanese Prime Minister, the foreign minister and his counterpart, the defense minister," he said.

The new Japanese ruling party, which took power after 50 years of rule by its political opponents, ran on a platform that promised a more assertive² posture³ toward the United States. Comments by Pentagon officials indicate they hope the new Japanese leaders change their minds and continue the refueling mission, but the U.S. officials also recognize that Japan may decide to help in Afghanistan in other ways, perhaps by training police officers or donating money to development projects.

 
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell speaks during a news conference, at the Pentagon in Washington (File)
The U.S. officials also say they understand that the new government in Tokyo wants to review the recent changes to U.S.-Japanese security arrangements. But the spokesman, Geoff Morrell, indicated that at this week's meetings Secretary Gates will tell the new Japanese leaders the United States expects the complex agreement to be honored.

"I think it will also be an opportunity to reiterate⁵ our strong commitment to this alliance, and also to the agreements that have been reached between our two governments, not political parties, but between our two governments," added Morrell.

Another senior defense official, who spoke⁴ on condition of anonymity⁶, said last week that any change in the complex series of agreements could unravel⁷ the entire plan, which was 15 years in the making. It involves moving thousands of U.S. forces stationed on Okinawa, building a new air base and re-locating some of the troops to Guam, among other aspects.

From Tokyo, Secretary Gates will travel to Seoul, where Geoff Morrell says he will try to further reassure⁸ officials of the U.S. commitment to South Korea's security, in the wake the latest short-range missile tests by North Korea earlier this month.

"Obviously missile launches of that nature are unhelpful and potentially destabilizing, and are frowned upon by us and others in the region," he said.

The United States is also in the process of re-locating tens of thousands of its troops in South Korea, and is working toward a transfer of wartime command responsibility to South Korean forces in 2012.

From Asia, Secretary Gates will travel to Slovakia for a meeting of NATO defense ministers expected to focus on Afghanistan. The alliance has primary responsibility for securing the country, but the United States has by far the largest number of troops there, and President Obama is in the midst of a major strategy review to determine whether to send even more troops, as the top NATO and U.S. commander wants. 

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

3 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

6 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

7 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

8 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。