VOA慢速英语2014 China and US Seek Closer Military Ties, But Differences Remain 中美寻求更加紧密的军事合作但分歧仍存在分歧

 

China and US Seek Closer Military Ties, But Differences Remain 中美寻求更加紧密的军事合作但分歧仍存在分歧

From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.

American Secretary of Defense¹ Chuck Hagel was in China this week. His visit was an example of efforts by the two countries to expand military ties. The Defense Secretary met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and visited China’s only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. But Mr. Hagel’s trip to China was short on friendly exchanges. The two sides spoke² of cooperation, but openly disagreed about territorial³ disputes in East Asia. 

Secretary Hagel arrived in Beijing after a stop in Japan. He told reporters that China must reduce tensions with its neighbors and be more open about its military strength.

 

China and Japan are involved in a territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea. The islands are called the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. They are rich in natural resources and provide valuable waters for fishing.

Last year, China established an air defense identification zone over the disputed islands. China claimed the right to take military action against any aircraft without approval to fly over the area.  Secretary Hagel criticized the decision to create the air defense zone over the islands.

“Every nation has a right to establish air defense zones, but not a right to do it unilaterally, with no collaboration⁴, no consultation⁵.  That adds to tensions, misunderstandings, and could eventually add to, and eventually get to, dangerous conflict.”

China’s Defense Minister strongly disagreed with the Defense Secretary. General Chang Wanquan noted⁶ that territorial issues are very important to his country. He said China would not incite⁷ Japan to action, but is prepared to protect its territory. In his words, “on this issue, we will make no compromise, no concession⁸, no trading, not even a tiny bit of violation⁹ is allowed.”

This was the third time that Defense Minister Chang and Secretary Hagel have met since they each took office. 

This week, Secretary Hagel made a visit to China’s National Defense University. He spoke about the need for openness as a way to avoid misunderstandings. One officer accused the United States of taking sides in Asia as a way to incite tensions and block the rise of China’s military. The United States denies it wants to contain China. 

Jonathan Pollack is with the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based research group. He says U.S. officials have taken a somewhat harder line in how they deal with issues of importance to Asia.

Secretary Hagel ended his 10-day trip to Asia with a visit to China’s neighbor, Mongolia. He signed a new deal to provide more military training and assistance to Mongolia. The U.S. currently provides about $3 million in military sales and training to the country.

Other nations have strengthened military ties with the United States. This has led China to criticize the U.S. for seeking to contain its rise. But observers say relations between the sides have improved over the past year or so. The two militaries have held several joint¹⁰ exercises since last year. 

And that’s In The News from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 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。

4 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

5 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。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

8 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

9 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

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。