拜登在压力之下平息紧张局势

 拜登在压力之下平息紧张局势

　　US vice-president faces difficult task of pacifying¹ Tokyo while openly communicating with Beijing

　　US Vice-President Joe Biden arrived in Tokyo late on Monday for the first leg of a tour of East Asia that will later take him to China and South Korea.

　　Biden's visit comes amid mounting tensions between China and Japan over territorial² claims and China's announcement last month of its East China Sea Air Defense³ Identification Zone.

　　Biden is walking a diplomatic tightrope⁴, according to observers, with various parties calling on him to support their stances, while others look to the US to calm tensions.

　　Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Sunday that he would discuss China's air defense identification zone with Biden on Tuesday to coordinate⁵ their stances.

　　"We want to hold consultation⁶ and deal with the matter by coordinating⁷ closely between Japan and the United States," Abe said.

　　One day before Biden's arrival, the US Navy's first advanced P-8 patrol aircraft arrived in Japan, starting a deployment⁸ that will upgrade Washington's ability to hunt submarines and other vessels⁹ in seas close to China, Reuters reported.

　　White House officials have emphasized that the visit is part of a continuum of US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

　　"The trip will underscore the Obama administration's strong commitment to the rebalance and to our enduring role as a Pacific power," a senior administration official said last week.

　　"It is an opportunity to give lift to our treaty alliances and to advance our very important relationship with China," the official said of Biden's trip.

　　Observers said that pacifying Tokyo and communicating with Beijing might be Biden's main task, but it will be difficult for him to achieve an arrangement that is satisfactory for all parties.

　　Stapleton Roy, a scholar at the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Wilson Center, said that the US and China share a major responsibility to act wisely and responsibly in dealing¹⁰ with regional sources of tension.

　　"Neither of the two countries should let the passions of the moment drive their behaviors," said Roy, who was also the US ambassador to China in the early 1990s.

　　Leadership role

　　However, Zha Daojiong, a professor of international relations at Peking University, said Washington appears to be increasingly taking a leadership role in the diplomatic impasses¹¹ among Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul — a role that many in Washington would rather not take on.

　　"The truth of the matter is that the expectations of the three northeast Asian capitals for 'reassuring¹²' words and actions from Washington DC could easily put the US desire to satisfy everyone under strain," Zha said.

　　"As such, realistically, the Biden trip can and should function as one that personifies the usual US call for restraint on the part of each of the three Northeast Asian capitals, rejecting conflict, which no party desires," he added.

　　Since China announced its air defense identification zone on Nov 23, Washington has repeatedly voiced its rejection¹³ of the zone, even flying two B-52 bombers¹⁴ to show defiance¹⁵, although the Pentagon said the flights were part of long-planned military drills.

　　Tokyo and Seoul also refused to recognize the zone, which overlaps¹⁶ with Japan's ADIZ over China's Diaoyu Islands in the area, and both have flown planes over China's zone without reporting to the Chinese authorities ahead of time. In return, China said it has dispatched air force jets to monitor these aircraft.

　　Wu Xinbo, director of the Institute of American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said that Beijing's air defense identification zone covers an area that features the most frequent US military activities in the region, and thus has infringed¹⁷ on the so-called "US strategic interest".

　　"It definitely impacts the low-altitude US reconnaissance against China and its joint¹⁸ exercises with allies. The bombers were dispatched to the zone only as a demonstration¹⁹ of Washington's tough posture," Wu said.

　　China has also asked aircraft to submit flight plans when traversing the area.

　　In defiance, Tokyo has ordered Japanese airlines not to submit flight plans to Beijing, but Washington said on Friday that it generally expected US carriers to "operate consistent with" notification policies issued by foreign countries.

　　Foreign Ministry²⁰ Spokesman Hong Lei expressed on Monday his appreciation²¹ for the constructive²² attitude of several airlines that have reported flight information to Chinese authority. He also urged Japan to stop making groundless accusations²³ and take joint responsibility with China in safeguarding aviation control in the airspace.

　　"The fact that Tokyo has deliberately²⁴ politicized the matter is not conducive²⁵ to bilateral²⁶ cooperation in civil aviation," Hong said.

　　Contact the writers at [email protected] and [email protected]

　　Pu Zhendong in Beijing and Reuters contributed to this story.

1 pacifying   

使（某人）安静( pacify的现在分词 )； 息怒； 抚慰； 在（有战争的地区、国家等）实现和平

参考例句：

• The papers put the emphasis on pacifying rather than suppressing the protesters. 他们强调要安抚抗议者而不是动用武力镇压。
• Hawthorn products have the function of pacifying the stomach and spleen, and promoting digestion. 山楂制品，和中消食。

2 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。

3 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。

4 tightrope   

n.绷紧的绳索或钢丝

参考例句：

• The audience held their breath as the acrobat walked along the tightrope.杂技演员走钢丝时，观众都屏住了呼吸。
• The tightrope walker kept her balance by holding up an umbrella.走钢丝的演员举着一把伞，保持身体的均衡。

5 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

6 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

7 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

8 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

9 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》

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 impasses   

绝境（impasse的复数形式）

参考例句：

• In the history of coalition warfare such impasses have been common, and sometimes disastrous. 在联合作战的历史中，这种相持不下的局面是很普通的，往往也是灾难性的。
• I see conundrums, dilemmas, quandaries, impasses, gnarly thickets of fateful possibility with no obvious way out. 眼看问题经纬万端，进退两难、入困境，死路一条，盘根错节的命定可能性，但找不到明显的出路。

12 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

13 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

14 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

16 overlaps   

v.部分重叠( overlap的第三人称单数 )；（物体）部份重叠；交叠；（时间上）部份重叠

参考例句：

• The style in these two books largely overlaps. 这两本书的文体有许多处是一致的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The new office overlaps the functions of the one already in existence. 新机构的职能与那个现存机构的职能部分重叠。 来自辞典例句

17 infringed   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处，秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 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。

19 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

20 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

21 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

22 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

23 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

24 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

25 conducive   

adj.有益的，有助的

参考例句：

• This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
• Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。

26 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。