VOA标准英语2010年-US Defense Secretary Invited to Visit

At the ASEAN Defense¹ Ministers meeting in Hanoi, Chinese Minister of Defense Liang Guanglie invited his U.S. counterpart Defense Secretary Robert Gates to visit China, in what seems like an easing of military tensions in the region.

Diplomacy² appears to be making some progress in reducing tensions at the ASEAN Plus Eight defense ministers' meeting. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations invited the United States, China, Japan, Russia and other regional powers to address security issues in the Pacific.

China resumes military relations

By inviting³ Defense Secretary Robert Gates to visit next year, China is resuming high-level military relations with the United States. Earlier in the year, China suspended military contacts because of U.S. planned arms sales to Taiwan.

The Chinese Defense Minister also said talks with Japan's defense officials were positive. Tensions between the two countries have increased after a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese coast guard patrol ships in waters claimed by both sides.

U.S. support for Southeast Asia

Earlier in the day, speaking to members of the military and students at the Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Secretary Gates sent a message to reassure⁴ Southeast Asia.

"I think all Asia can be confident that the U.S. intends to remain engaged in Asia as we have been for so many scores of years before and that we intend to be an active party, not only in economic and political matters but also in defense and security matters," Gates said.

The United States is concerned territorial⁵ disputes over small island chains in the region could hurt access to one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

Beijing says its claims over the Spratly and Paracel islands are a "core national interest." Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia also claim all or part of the islands. Although largely uninhabited, the islands are believed to sit atop vast reserves of oil and natural gas.

Solution to sea disputes

The United States says it has a national interest in freedom of navigation in international waters. Mr. Gates said Asian sea disputes should be resolved peacefully through negotiations⁶.

The defense secretary also says by acting⁷ together in a multilateral organization like ASEAN, smaller Asian countries can better resolve regional security issues.

"Increasingly we find that relying exclusively on bilateral⁸ relationships is not enough," said Gates. "We need multi-lateral institutions in order to confront the most important security challenges in the region."

During his two-day visit, Gates will meet with several Asian defense ministers who want U.S. support to counter the growth of China as a regional power.
 

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 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

4 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

5 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。

6 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。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 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。