Australia may overturn its opposition to joining the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank after the UK opted to sign up to the institution against the wishes of Washington.
澳大利亚可能会改变不加入中国主导的亚洲基础设施投资银行（Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank，简称：亚投行）的决定，此前英国已选择加入这家机构、而且不惜为此惹怒美国。
The rethink by one of the US’s key allies which, alongside Japan and South Korea, has not applied to join the $50bn bank before the March 31 deadline will irk the US.
作为美国的关键盟友之一，澳大利亚的重新考虑将引发美国不快。迄今澳大利亚连同日本和韩国，均尚未表示会在3月31日的截止日期之前申请加入这家资本达500亿美元的开发银行。
Washington is already angered by the UK’s move to become the AIIB’s first member from the G7 group of leading economies.
华盛顿方面已经被英国的举动激怒；英国此举使其成为首个加入亚投行的七国集团(G7)发达经济体。
“I note that the UK has indicated an intention to sign up for the negotiations, the New Zealanders before Christmas signed up for the negotiations, the Singaporeans likewise, the Indians likewise,” said Tony Abbott, Australia’s prime minister.
“我注意到英国已表示有意参与到谈判中，新西兰在去年圣诞节前就参与了谈判，新加坡和印度也是如此，”澳大利亚总理托尼•阿博特(Tony Abbott)表示。
“We’re looking very carefully at this and we’ll make a decision in the next week or so,” he told The Australian newspaper.
“我们正在非常审慎地关注这一事态，并将在未来一周左右作出决定，”他对《澳大利亚人报》(The Australian)表示。
The Obama administration is concerned that China is building a new generation of international development banks that could rival Washington-based institutions.
奥巴马(Obama)政府担心，中国正在打造新一代国际开发银行，它们有可能与总部位于华盛顿的老牌机构争风头。
Washington says it is not opposed to the AIIB but US officials fear it could become an instrument of Chinese foreign policy if Beijing ends up having veto power over the bank’s decisions.
华盛顿方面表示并不反对亚投行，但美国官员担心，如果中国政府最终对该行决策拥有否决权，该行可能沦为中国对外政策的工具。
Canberra initially decided not to join after a cabinet debate that exposed tensions between economic ministries keen to sign up and a more sceptical foreign ministry.
堪培拉方面最初决定不加入亚投行，此前一场激烈的内阁辩论暴露了澳方内部分歧：主管经济的部门热衷于加入，但外交部抱有更大的疑虑。
The UK’s move last week to join the AIIB has reopened the debate over whether Australia’s national interests lie with bolstering economic ties with China or deferring to the concerns expressed by its main military ally, the US.
上周英国加入亚投行的决定，重新点燃了澳大利亚内部的辩论，其焦点是：澳大利亚的国家利益是在于增进同中国的经贸往来，还是在于顾及主要军事盟友美国的关切？
“The UK joining the bank has given a good pretext for the government to rethink its original decision,” said Kerry Brown, director of the China Studies Centre at Sydney university. “There is a feeling it acted as a bit of a poodle of the US and it should take a more independent stance.”
“英国加入亚投行提供了一个很好的由头，让政府重新考虑当初的决定。”悉尼大学中国研究中心(China Studies Centre at Sydney university)主任克里•布朗(Kerry Brown)表示，“有一种感觉是，澳大利亚的角色有点像美国的狮子狗，它应该采取更加独立的姿态。”
The issue is politically fraught for Australia. Canberra must balance its rapidly growing economic relationship with China, which is its biggest trading partner, against its military alliance and close friendship with the US.
对澳大利亚来说，这件事在政治上十分棘手。堪培拉方面必须审慎把握平衡：一边是澳大利亚与最大贸易伙伴中国快速发展的经贸往来，另一边是澳大利亚与美国的军事同盟和亲密友谊。
Julie Bishop, Australia’s foreign minister, said yesterday Canberra remained concerned that China had a 49 per cent shareholding in the bank, while the largest partners in other existing multilateral organisations retained a shareholding of 20 per cent.
澳大利亚外长毕晓普(Julie Bishop)昨日表示，堪培拉方面仍对中国持有亚投行49%股权感到担忧，相比之下，现有多边组织中规模最大的合作伙伴只保留20%的股权。
“We want to ensure that anything that we invest in is meeting the very high standards of the kind of ­multilateral institutions that Australia has supported in the past,” she said.
“我们希望确保这一点，即我们投资的任何事物，都能达到澳大利亚一贯支持的那种多边机构的极高标准，”她说。
Ms Bishop told the Financial Times in a recent interview that Australia did not have to choose between China and the US as partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
毕晓普在近期接受采访时告诉英国《金融时报》，澳大利亚没有必要在中国和美国究竟谁才是亚太地区合作伙伴这个问题上作出选择。
“It is not a zero-sum game,” she said. “We balance many relationships in our region and beyond.”
“这不是一场零和游戏，”她说，“我们在所在地区乃至全球总得平衡众多关系。”
South Korea’s government has remained tight-lipped on the subject of joining the AIIB, despite heavy domestic media speculation on the subject. The Maeil Economic Daily, a leading business newspaper, reported last week that Seoul had won Washington’s blessing for South Korean entry to the AIIB, provided China’s proportion of the bank’s capital was reduced.
韩国政府在加入亚投行的问题上迄今守口如瓶，尽管其国内媒体对此进行了大量猜测。韩国知名财经报纸《每日经济日报》(Maeil Economic Daily)上周报道称，首尔方面在韩国加入亚投行一事上争取到了美国同意——前提是中国减少其在该机构的持股比例。
Seoul’s finance ministry responded to that report with a terse statement saying simply: “Nothing has been decided.”
韩国财政部用一份简短声明回应那篇报道，称：“一切尚未决定。”
But it is engaged in talks with both China and the US regarding joining the bank, a senior ministry official said. “At the moment we need to consider all our options,” he said.
但韩国一位高级官员表示，该国正在加入亚投行的问题上同中国和美国展开磋商。“眼下我们需要考虑我方的所有选择，”他说。