U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says more people will die if Burma's military government does not lift restrictions on relief aid soon. Mr. Gates spoke at an Asian security forum in Singapore, part of his tour of Asia.
美国国防部长盖茨说，如果缅甸军政府不尽快取消对救灾援助的限制，更多的人将会死亡。盖茨是访问亚洲期间在新加坡的一个亚洲安全论坛上说这番话的。
High on the agenda at the Asia security forum was Burma, where the United Nations says millions are suffering from the after-effects of Cyclone Nargis, which swept through the country nearly a month ago, leaving 134,000 people dead or missing.
亚洲安全论坛的一个重要议题就是缅甸。“纳尔吉斯”强热带风暴近一个月前席卷缅甸，造成13万4千人死亡或失踪。联合国说，仍有数百万缅甸人在风暴后的灾难中受苦。
Despite letting in some aid, and some foreign relief workers, Burma's government continues to restrict the amount of help that is reaching the victims.
虽然缅甸政府已经允许一部分救援物资和一些外国救援人员进入缅甸，但是它还在限制能够到达灾民手中的援助。
In remarks at the forum in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said unless the Burmese government changes its approach, more people will die. Gates said he would describe the Burmese generals' current policy as one of - in his words - criminal neglect.
美国国防部长盖茨在新加坡的亚洲安全论坛上发表讲话时说，除非缅甸政府改变其政策，否则更多人将会死去。他说，缅甸军政府领导人目前的政策是“犯罪性的玩忽职守”。
The United States has been among those pressing Burma to let in more assistance, especially to those in the hard-hit and remote areas of the Irawaddy Delta. Four U.S. Navy ships have been standing by in the Andaman Sea off the Burmese coast for weeks, loaded with fresh water, medicine, landing craft, and helicopters that could get the aid to victims in a matter of minutes - if they had the Burmese government's permission to do so.
美国和其它一些国家敦促缅甸允许更多救援进入该国，特别是进入位于伊洛瓦底三角洲偏远的重灾区。几星期以来，四艘美国军舰一直在缅甸附近的安达曼海上待命。这些军舰上装载着洁净水、药物、登陆船和能够在几分钟之内把救援物资送到灾民手中的直升飞机，要是缅甸政府允许他们这样做的话。
The U.S. Defense Secretary said no decision has been made to call off the operation, dubbed Caring Response, but he said it may be matter of days before the ships are called back.
盖茨说，目前还没有决定取消这个名叫“关怀反应”的行动。不过，他说，也许再过几天这些军舰就将被撤回。
He said it is becoming clear that the Burmese authorities will not accept the assistance. Analysts say Burma's military - in power since 1962 - views the presence of foreign soldiers as a threat.
盖茨说，显然，缅甸当局不会接受援助。分析人士说，自1962年以来一直统治缅甸的军政府把外国军人进入缅甸看成一种威胁。
Despite reports that aid has yet to reach hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims, Burma's deputy defense minister Aye Myint told delegates at the security forum on Sunday that relief operations in the country are over and the generals are now focusing on reconstruction.
虽然新闻报导说救援物资还没有到达几十万风暴灾民的手中，但是缅甸国防部副部长埃敏星期日对参加安全论坛的代表们说，缅甸的救灾工作已经结束，军政府领导人现在正集中精力进行重建。
Burma says it needs $11 billion to rebuild. The government has not issued any reports on how it reached that figure and foreign relief experts say it is impossible to verify since no international teams have been allowed to do a thorough assessment.
Aside from Burma, Secretary Gates said the forum in Singapore covered a wide range of issues, including securing some of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
"We talked about security issues, where our cooperation is good and where Malaysia has played an important role, not only in terms of protecting its own security, but in helping to protect the straits of Malacca, and against piracy and against terrorism," Gates said.
After the forum, the U.S. Defense Secretary flew to Bangkok for meetings with Thai officials. His visit followed street clashes among political opponents that have raised fears of another military coup. Thailand returned to democratic rule in January after a 2006 coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. |