VOA标准英语2014--Hagel Prepares for Week Focused on Asia

 

Hagel Prepares for Week Focused on Asia 

WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Chuck Hagel is preparing for a week of meetings that highlight the U.S. pivot² to Asia. Starting Tuesday, he hosts defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, in Hawaii before traveling to Japan and China.

The U.S. has labeled some of the Chinese actions in disputed waters off its eastern and southern coasts as provocative³.

These are Chinese military training exercises in the East China Sea -- as seen in video supplied by China to western news agencies -- where China declared a controversial Air Defense Identification Zone last year. In December, the U.S. said one of its  warships was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision with a Chinese naval⁴ vessel⁵.   

'Pivot to Asia'

These and other incidents occurred even as the U.S. seeks to focus foreign policy and trade on Asia.

Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, during a trip to Washington last year, called into question the reasons for the United States' so-called “Pivot to Asia."

"I hope this rebalance to Asia is not aimed at China and weakening China," he said.

Chang will meet with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel when he stops in Beijing during a week-long trip to the Pacific region.  

Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters on Thursday that Hagel's trip is a sign of Washington's renewed commitment to the region.

"Further evidence of the secretary’s personal commitment to the president’s rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Maritime⁶ disputes

When ASEAN defense ministers met last August, they discussed maritime territorial⁷ disputes in the region. Talks this week in Hawaii also will focus on the issue -- particularly Beijing's approach to bolstering⁸ its claims over islands in the South China Sea also claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.  

The U.S. defense secretary will travel from Hawaii to Japan, which has its own maritime dispute with Beijing. But the disputed Senkaku Islands - which China calls the "Diaoyu" -- will not be the only topic.

North Korea's nuclear weapons program is also on the agenda in Tokyo, as well as in Beijing -- after North Korea test fired two medium range missiles just days ago.

North Korea's belligerence⁹

In recent congressional testimony¹⁰, the head of the United States Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, said China continues to support North Korea militarily. This, he says, is not beneficial for regional peace and stability.

“North Korea is an ally of China, and they're closely aligned¹¹ from a military perspective and have been for a number of years … my sense is, is that there is -- has been a close relationship on military capability¹² and military equipment for some time, and it probably will continue,” said Locklear.

While Hagel has been to Asia, this will be his first visit to China, and it follows a meeting Monday between Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping at the Nuclear Summit in The Hague.

Despite the tensions at sea, defense officials from both countries say they seek an increase in military-to-military communication to eliminate misunderstandings and reduce the risk of misjudgments.

 

Libo Lu of the VOA Mandarin¹³ service contributed to this report from Washington.

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 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

3 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

4 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。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 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。

7 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。

8 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

9 belligerence   

n.交战，好战性，斗争性

参考例句：

• He could be accused of passion,but never belligerence.可以说他很冲动，但不能说他爱挑事。
• He was almost back to his belligerent mood of twelve months ago.他故态复萌，几乎又像一年前那样咄咄逼人了。

10 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

11 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

12 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

13 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。