A pair of American B52 bombers flew across the disputed islands in the East China Sea on Monday, just days after China claimed the area as its own “air defence identification zone.”
两架美国B-52轰炸机周一飞过东海争议岛屿上空。就在几天前，中国刚刚宣布该区域为“防空识别区”。
In what appeared to be a direct challenge to the Chinese claim, the Pentagon said that the flights were a long-planned training mission and insisted that the US would continue to operate in what it considers to be international air space.
这次行动明显是对中国的直接挑战，五角大楼(Pentagon)表示，此次飞行属于早就列入训练计划的任务，同时坚称美国将继续在其认为的国际空域执行任务。
The Chinese were not informed of the flights.
此次飞行并未告知中方。
The Chinese defence ministry said on Saturday that it would establish the air zone over the group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea in order to protect its territorial rights. Beijing also insisted that it would take “defensive emergency measures” against aircraft which entered the zone without identifying themselves.
上周六，中国国防部表示将在东海这个无人居住的群岛上空建立防空识别区，以保护中国的领土主权。中国政府还坚称，对于进入该区域而未确认自己身份的飞机将采取“防御性紧急处置措施”。
The Chinese claim is part of a broader push by Beijing to assert greater control over the seas that surround it and to push back against American influence in the western Pacific where the US Navy has been dominant since the end of the second world war.
从更大范围上说，中国此举是其整体努力的一部分，目的是对本国海岸线外的海洋施加更大控制，逼退美国在西太平洋的影响力。自二战结束以来，美国海军一直在西太平洋地区占据霸主地位。
China has also taken a more aggressive stance in recent years in defence of its claims over a series of disputed islands in the South China Sea, which are also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines, among others.
近年来，中国在宣示其对南海一系列有争议岛屿的主权主张方面也采取了更为咄咄逼人的姿态。越南、菲律宾等其他国家也宣称拥有这些岛屿的主权。
The announcement of the new air zone could aggravate the already tense dispute with Japan over the islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
划设防空识别区可能加剧中日之间围绕东海这个群岛本已十分紧张的争端。该群岛在日本被称为尖阁诸岛(Senkaku)，在中国被称为钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿。
The US, which has a longstanding defence treaty with Japan, has sharply criticised the Chinese decision. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday that Beijing’s announcement was “unnecessarily inflammatory” and that it could have a “destabilising impact on the region”.
对于中国这一决定，与日本签有长期安保协议的美国发表了尖锐批评。白宫发言人乔希?欧内斯特(Josh Earnest)周二表示，中国方面的宣布“毫无必要地具有煽动性”，并可能“造成破坏整个地区稳定的影响”。
Chuck Hagel, the US defence secretary, issued a strongly-worded statement within hours of the Chinese announcement at the weekend, accusing China of launching “a destabilising attempt to alter the status quo in the region”.
上周末，在中国发表声明几小时之后，美国国防部长查克?哈格尔(Chuck Hagel)发表一份措辞强硬的声明，谴责中国做出“一种不利于稳定的企图，目的是改变地区现状”。
He said China’s “unilateral” announcement would increase “the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculations” and insisted that the Pentagon would not “in any way change how the United States conducts military operations in the region.”
他表示中方的“单边”声明会加大“误解和误判的风险”，并坚称五角大楼不会“以任何方式改变美国在该地区执行军事任务的方式”。
Although the US officially does not have a position on the sovereignty dispute over the islands, Mr Hagel added that the US mutual defence treaty with Japan did include the Senkaku Islands – an indication that the US would intervene on the Japanese side if there were ever a conflict over the islands.
尽管美国对东海争议岛屿主权之争没有正式立场，但哈格尔专门指出，《美日安保条约》确实覆盖尖阁诸岛。这表明，一旦发生围绕该群岛的冲突，美国将站在日本一方出手干预。
Japan has also sharply criticised the Chinese announcement. Speaking on Monday, prime minister Shinzo Abe said that the Chinese attempt to restrict air traffic in the region was “unenforceable” and that it was “of no validity whatsoever to Japan”.
日本也对中方声明发表了尖锐批评。日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)周一在讲话中表示，中国试图限制该区域空中交通的企图是“无法执行的”，“对我国完全无效”。
However, the Japanese government’s position was somewhat undermined after the country’s biggest commercial airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, said that they were already complying with Beijing’s new rules by notifying the Chinese authorities of flights through the disputed area.
然而，全日空(All Nippon Airways)和日本航空(Japan Airlines)表示他们已遵循中国政府新规定，向中国官方通报了飞越争议区域的航班信息。这在一定程度上削弱了日本政府的立场。