2007年VOA标准英语-Boundary Dispute Seen as Root of Iranian Seizur

By Jim Teeple
Washington
29 March 2007

Britain continues to insist that it was within Iraqi territorial¹ waters when Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized two small patrol craft and 15 sailors and marines.  Iran maintains the boats were in Iranian waters.  As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, the waters in question have long been a point of dispute between Iran and Iraq.

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Vice Admiral Charles Style stands in front of a diagram depicitng when British soldiers were captured

With modern navigation devices such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) a ship can determine its position down to scant³ meters, a far cry from the days when ships navigated⁴ by a sextant and the stars.

But as Craig Murray, former chief of the Maritime⁵ Section of Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth⁶ Office, points out, even the most sophisticated navigational devices are of no help in the current British-Iranian dispute because there is no clearly demarcated boundary.

"The major problem is, knowing where the ships were exactly doesn't help you know precisely⁷ where the boundary line is because that's what nobody really knows, because it [the boundary] has never been agreed," he explained.

The British boats were in the Persian Gulf⁸ outside the mouth of the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, a winding⁹ 193-kilometer tidal river that runs between Iran and Iraq.  The waterway and the Gulf waters into which it flows have long been a source of conflict between the two neighbors.  Control of it was one cause of the bloody¹⁰ Iran-Iraq War that ran from 1980 to 1988.

Kaiyan Kaikobad is a professor of international law at Durham University in Britain who has advised the United Nations and written extensively about Persian Gulf maritime disputes.  He notes that Iran and Iraq have still not agreed on a formal maritime boundary in that area where the Shatt-al-Arab flows into the Gulf.

"Once you're in the Gulf, there is no lateral¹¹ boundary that the two countries have agreed upon by virtue¹² of a treaty," he said.  "Now it may be that over these 15, 20, 25 years, they have a kind of de facto arrangement."

British troops operate out of Basra, the Iraqi port near the Gulf.  Under U.N. mandate¹³, Royal Navy ships patrol the coastal¹⁴ area of Iraq.  Craig Murray, who also served as ambassador to Uzbekistan, says the shallow shipping¹⁵ lanes shift with tides and seasons, making even a rough demarcation extremely difficult.

British Foreign Office spokesman Barry Marston tells VOA that Britain realizes that there are questions about the maritime boundary in the area.  But, he adds, the British craft were not in any area of dispute.

"We are aware there are some issue over in clarity over the Iraq-Iranian [demarcation], over the exact borderline along parts of that coast," he said.  "That is an area, however, where there is no doubt whatsoever¹⁶.  This has never been a stretch where there has been any dispute over.  So there's very, very little doubt that Britain is absolutely in the right here."

Kaiyan Kaikobad says that even if British craft had strayed into what Iran claims as its waters, under international law, Iran had no right to seize the sailors.

"Even if a naval¹⁷ vessel¹⁸, a warship¹⁹, from Iraq or from the United Kingdom strays into Iranian territory by mistake, even if that is the case, you can't arrest it," he said.  "You can't board that craft.  All that you do is you can ask that vessel, 'we want you to leave.'  You can persevere²⁰ in that.  But you can't go about arresting them.  You can't go about keeping their people in captivity²¹."

U.S. warships²² are engaged in exercises in the Persian Gulf.  Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Thursday the maneuvers²³ are not aimed at threatening Iran, but to make sure the Persian Gulf remains²⁴ open to commerce.

"The message is, we have 170,000 American troops in Iraq, we have obvious security interests throughout the Gulf region.  The Gulf is not an Iranian lake," he said.  "It is an international waterway.  And we will protect, as we have since the late 1940s, to protect the right of companies and nations to use the Gulf for international commerce."

Craig Murray thinks there is a simple solution to the current crisis, just have Iran and Iraq commit to negotiations²⁵ on a maritime boundary.

"What they would say was, 'we acknowledge that these waters are disputed.'  The British side would say, 'we thought we were in Iraqi territorial waters but we acknowledge there was a dispute and maybe Iran thought we were in their territorial waters, we had no intention of being in their territorial waters.'  And both sides would say, 'we agree it would be a very good idea for Iran and Iraq to negotiate a boundary at an early date.'  And then Iran could let the sailors go.  That kind of agreement shouldn't ought to be difficult at all," he said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday Britain would not negotiate for the release of the detained service members, and again demanded their immediate²⁶ and unconditional²⁷ release.

1 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。

2 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。

3 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

4 navigated   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• He navigated the plane through the clouds. 他驾驶飞机穿越云层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ship was navigated by the North Star. 那只船靠北极星来导航。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

7 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

10 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

11 lateral   

adj.侧面的，旁边的

参考例句：

• An airfoil that controls lateral motion.能够控制横向飞行的机翼。
• Mr.Dawson walked into the court from a lateral door.道森先生从一个侧面的门走进法庭。

12 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

13 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

14 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

15 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

16 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

17 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。

18 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。

19 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。

20 persevere   

v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• They are determined to persevere in the fight.他们决心坚持战斗。
• It is strength of character enabled him to persevere.他那坚强的性格使他能够坚持不懈。

21 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

22 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。

23 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

24 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

25 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

26 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

27 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。