VOA标准英语2012--In Hong Kong, Maritime Militarization on Display

In Hong Kong, Maritime¹ Militarization on Display

 

The Yuncheng 571 frigate² docks at Hong Kong's Victoria harbor for a five-day visit, and following just behind is the Haikou 171 destroyer.

The vessels³, two of the Chinese Navy's most advanced warships⁴ and part of the 10th Chinese Naval⁵ Escort Task Force, are making a port call to celebrate the15th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China.

Their arrival at Ngong Shuen Chau, the Naval Base also known as the Stonecutters Island, which sits just off the harbor's western entrance, comes at a time of rising tension in the South China Sea.

The current standoff between China and the Philippines is but the latest in a series of maritime incidents between Beijing and its Southeast Asian neighbors, and a new report from security analysts⁶ at the International Crisis Group (ICG) confirms the trend of increasing militarization.

"In China, the South Sea Fleet, which is the one responsible for the South China Sea, has traditionally been the least well-endowed of all the three fleets," says Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, ICG's project director for Northeast Asia. "And so these tensions in the South China Sea are the perfect justification⁷ for their modernization⁸."

The 3.5-million square kilometers of the South China Sea are variously contested by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam. 

Last year Vietnam accused Chinese patrol boats of interfering⁹ with one of its oil and gas survey ships. Tensions between China and the Philippines, however, have soared because of a set of disputed islands known in English as the Scarborough shoal.

Last week, the United States and the Philippines held joint¹⁰ live-fire naval drills, prompting China to warn Washington against getting involved in the region. But on the eve of a visit to Beijing, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted Washington is not taking sides.

"As a Pacific power we have a national interest in freedom of navigation, the maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international law," she said.

But ICG analysts say the lack of legal clarity about competing territorial¹¹ claims is central to the rising tensions.

Steven Tsang, director of the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham, suggests China may have wider strategic aims.

"What [officials in Beijing] really are after is not so much the territorial bit, but to be able to basically get the region to accept that it is the Chinese sphere of influence, that they will all accept Chinese leadership or pre-eminence in that part," says professor Tsang. "They would then wish the Americans not to be so deeply involved, [such] that [the South China Sea] would become almost a Chinese lake."

Chinese officials say they plan to present a maritime border claim based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. But with such strategically important and resource-rich waters, analysts say finding agreement between so many competing nations will be difficult. 

1 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。

2 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

3 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

8 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

9 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。