Japan’s coast guard plucked a stranded Chinese balloonist out of the sea near the disputed Senkaku Islands on New Year’s day after the man tried and failed to land on one of the islands.
日本海上保安厅元旦在有争议的尖阁诸岛（Senkaku Islands，中国称这些岛屿为钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿）附近海域救起了一名落水的中国热气球驾驶者。此人曾试图降落到其中的一个岛屿，但没有成功。
The man’s political affiliation and precise motive were unclear, but the coast guard said yesterday that he told his rescuers he had been trying to reach one of the Japanese-administered islands, which are known as the Diaoyu in China. He was identified as Xu Shuaijun, a 35-year-old cook from Hebei province.
不清楚这名男子的政治立场和具体动机，但海上保安厅昨日表示，该男子告诉救援人员，他曾试图登上由日本管辖的这些岛屿中的一个。经查明身份，这名男子名叫许帅军，现年35岁，是河北省的一名厨师。
Chinese activists have previously landed or attempted to land ships on the uninhabited islands, which are at the centre of a bitter territorial dispute.
中国活动人士以往曾登上或试图把船靠上这些无人居住的岛屿。中国和日本如今围绕着这些岛屿的主权归属正展开着一场对峙。
The confrontation has been fraught since late 2012, with Chinese patrol ships regularly entering waters near the islands and both sides scrambling fighter jets, though so far there has been no violence.
从2012年末开始，中日两国就陷入对峙，中国巡逻船经常进入争议岛屿附近海域，双方也都曾紧急出动战斗机摆开拦截阵势，尽管迄今并未交火。
The balloon incident appeared, if anything, to mark a moment of co-operation between the adversaries in the dispute.
此次气球事件如果说有任何意义的话，那就是标志着这场纠纷的各方展开了片刻合作。
Authorities in Taiwan, which also claims the islands, alerted the Japanese coast guard that a hot-air balloon they had been tracking by radar had gone missing over the East China Sea.
同样声称拥有这些岛屿主权的台湾，在从雷达上看到这只热气球在东中国海上空消失后，通报了日本海上保安厅。
A coast guard helicopter soon spotted the colourful balloon in the water about 20km from one of the islands, and a ship was dispatched to pick up Mr Xu, who was not seriously injured.
海上保安厅的一架直升机很快就在距离其中一个岛屿大约20公里的海面上看到了色彩鲜艳的气球，并派一艘船赶赴现场救起许帅军。许帅军没有受重伤。
After ascertaining Mr Xu’s nationality, the coast guard handed him to a nearby Chinese ship.
在确定许帅军的国籍后，日本海上保安厅将他移交给附近的一艘中国海警船。
According to Japanese media reports, the Chinese captain expressed gratitude to the coast guard for rescuing a Chinese citizen.
据日本媒体报道，中方船长感谢日本海上保安厅营救一名中国公民。
Although military forces have not clashed directly in the territorial dispute, past incidents involving private citizens have helped to inflame it. China reacted angrily when Japan arrested a fishing boat captain in 2010 after his ship struck a Japanese coast guard patrol boat near the islands.
虽然双方的军事力量迄今未在这场领土纠纷中直接冲突，但以往曾有涉及私人的事件加剧纠纷。2010年，一艘中国渔船在争议岛屿附近冲撞日本海上保安厅巡逻船后，日方逮捕了渔船船长，对此中国作出了愤怒反应。
A group of Hong Kong-based Chinese nationalists in 2012 landed on one of the islands, igniting another diplomatic incident between the countries.
2012年，香港一群中国民族主义者登上了其中一个岛屿，在中日两国间点燃了又一场外交事件。
Japanese nationalists have pointedly sailed ships near the islands, on which they are forbidden to land by Japanese authorities.
日本民族主义者针锋相对地驾船航行至争议岛屿附近，尽管日本政府禁止他们登岛。
A week before the balloon incident, relations between Japan and China sank further when Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, visited Tokyo’s Yasukuni war shrine, a site reviled by many in China and Korea as a symbol of Japanese imperialism.
气球事件发生一周前，日中关系进一步下滑，原因是日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)参拜了靖国神社(Yasukuni war shrine)，这个供奉战争死难者亡灵的地方被中国和韩国的许多人视为日本军国主义的一个符号。
The act broke an informal seven-year freeze on visits to Yasukuni by Japanese premiers.
安倍此举打破了七年来在任日本首相不亲自参拜靖国神社的惯例。