Japan’s domestically built X-2 stealth fighter took off from Nagoya on Friday in a maiden flight that highlights the accelerating arms race in East Asia.

周五，日本国产隐形战斗机X-2从名古屋起飞，完成了“处女航”。这次试飞凸显出东亚军备竞赛在不断加速。

The X-2 “Shinshin” — with the characteristically angular look of aircraft designed to evade radar detection — departed early on Friday morning and landed safely at Gifu air base about 25 minutes later.

X-2“心神”于周五早晨起飞，大约25分钟后安全降落在岐阜空军基地。X-2有着独特的棱角分明的外观，这种设计是为了躲避雷达探测。

Built by Mitsubishi, which manufactured the “Zero” fighter during the second world war, the flight highlights the growing capability of a Japanese aerospace industry that for decades has relied on the US.

这架飞机由二战时制造零式战斗机(Zero)的三菱(Mitsubishi)建造，凸显了日本航空工业能力的不断提高。几十年来，日本航空工业都依赖于美国。

But with billions of dollars in development costs needed to turn the X-2 into a fighting aircraft, the flight also shows the painful choices ahead for Japan as it tries to keep up with China’s growing military might.

但要将这架X-2改造成一架作战飞机需要数十亿美元研发费用，这也反映出，日本要想跟上中国日益增长的军事实力，将面临痛苦的选择。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has raised Japan’s defence budget every year of his premiership but Japan’s stagnant economy means it is falling ever further behind China.

日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)上任后逐年提高了日本的防卫预算，但日本停滞的经济意味着它正被中国甩得越来越远。

Development of the X-2 reflects Japan’s dismay as it watches two powerful neighbours, Russia and China, develop stealth fighters while its US ally refuses to sell an equivalent aircraft.

X-2的研发反映出了日本的失望情绪。它眼看着两个强大的邻国——俄罗斯和中国——都在发展隐形战斗机，而盟友美国却拒绝向它出售同级别的飞机。

Sukhoi of Russia has built a stealth fighter called the T-50 while China is developing the Chengdu J-20. Both are expected to enter service in coming years, raising the prospect that Japan’s defences — over the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands, for example — will be outclassed.

俄罗斯的苏霍伊(Sukhoi)已经造出了T-50隐形战斗机，而中国的成都飞机工业集团正在研制歼-20战斗机(J-20)。二者都有望在几年后服役，这可能会让日本的防卫——比如对有争议的尖阁诸岛（Senkaku Islands，中国称钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿）的防卫——处于极大的劣势。

The US, however, has refused to sell Japan its own stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor, leaving Tokyo to rely on the less stealthy and less powerful F-35.

但美国却拒绝向日本出售其F-22“猛禽”隐形战斗机(F-22 Raptor)，东京方面不得不仰仗隐形和战斗能力不那么强的F-35战斗机。

That has prompted Japan to start its own stealth fighter programme.

这一局面促使日本启动了自己的隐形战斗机研发计划。