美国国家公共电台 NPR--At Biden-Marcos meeting, China is expected to be at the top of the agenda

At Biden-Marcos meeting, China is expected to be at the top of the agenda

Transcript¹

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says he aims to forge a stronger relationship with Washington, and China's territorial² expansion in the South China Sea will be a major topic to discuss.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

I'm A Martínez in Culver City, Calif. The president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is in the U.S. to meet with President Biden. Marcos says his aim is to forge an even stronger relationship with Washington, and China's aggressive territorial expansion in the South China Sea will likely be one of the top items on the agenda. NPR's Michael Sullivan covers Southeast Asia, joins us now from his base in Thailand.

Michael, the name Marcos - probably one that many are familiar with, but give us a refresher on who he is and his family's history.

MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE³: So, A, this is a man whose family was forced to flee Malacanang Palace, the presidential palace, on board U.S. helicopters back in 1986 as the People Power Revolution swept his father, the dictator Marcos, from power. The family left for exile in Hawaii with bags and boxes stuffed with cash and gold and jewelry⁴, and his father died there in 1989. The family eventually returned to the Philippines and went about rebuilding the family image and revitalizing the family dynasty, and it's worked spectacularly. And here we are almost 40 years later with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the democratically elected president of the Philippines. So it's a pretty remarkable⁵ comeback story.

MART?NEZ: And now the return of the younger Marcos to the U.S. - I'm assuming it's all - most - at least, most of it should be about China.

SULLIVAN: Absolutely. And both sides recognize that they need each other. Marcos' predecessor⁶, the mercurial⁷ Rodrigo Duterte, was famously and often profanely⁸ anti-American, and he cozied up to China in a way that alarmed U.S. policymakers. The relationship suffered as a result, but it's now clearly back on track under Marcos. He's expanded a defense⁹ agreement with the U.S. that allows the U.S. access to four additional military sites, some of which are Taiwan-facing, which obviously alarms Beijing. And the two sides just last week wrapped up their biggest joint¹⁰ exercises ever, which ended with them sinking a target in the South China Sea, off the Philippine coast. And the optics there were pretty clear.

MART?NEZ: And so why is the Philippines so concerned about China in the South China Sea?

SULLIVAN: Well, China has been aggressively expanding its presence there, building military bases on disputed reefs, as well as repeatedly harassing¹¹ Philippine fishermen in the area. Now, remember, China claims pretty much the entire South China Sea as its own, even though an international tribunal rejected that claim in 2016 in a case brought by the Philippines. And just last Friday, Manila accused China's Coast Guard of aggressive tactics after a near-collision with a Philippine warship¹². And on Saturday, the State Department issued a statement calling on Beijing to, quote, "desist from its provocative¹³ and unsafe conduct."

MART?NEZ: All right. Now, what does Marcos hope to accomplish while he's here?

SULLIVAN: Well, the U.S. and the Philippines have this decades-old mutual¹⁴ defense treaty. And Marcos, I think, will be looking for assurances that the U.S. has his back in any open confrontation¹⁵ with China, where the red line is that would oblige the U.S. to come to Manila's aid. During the Obama and Trump¹⁶ administrations, there was a sense in Manila that the answer to that question wasn't really clear. In announcing this visit, the White House declared the U.S. commitment to the defense of the Philippines is, quote, "ironclad." I'd expect Marcos will be asking Biden exactly what ironclad means. There will be other issues discussed - more U.S. investment, climate change, for example. What probably won't get talked about much is human rights abuses, either those that occurred during his father's rule or during President Duterte's controversial war on drugs, now being investigated by the International Criminal Court. Marcos' vice¹⁷ president, by the way, A, is Duterte's daughter, Sara.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Michael Sullivan in Thailand.

Michael, thanks.

SULLIVAN: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

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 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

7 mercurial   

adj.善变的，活泼的

参考例句：

• He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable.他是个反复无常的人，因此对他的行为无法预言。
• Our desires and aversions are mercurial rulers.我们的欲望与嫌恶是变化无常的统治者。

8 profanely   

adv.渎神地，凡俗地

参考例句：

• He kept wondering profanely why everything bad happened to him. 他骂骂咧咧，一直在嘀咕为什么所有的坏事总是落在他头上。 来自互联网

9 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。

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 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

12 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。