A Step Toward Trust With China

纽时社论原文在此，对比阅读人民网和环球时报的三篇编译，不能不说是“选择性失明“吧。
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/14683306.html
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/57507/15253386.html
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Observation/2011-07/1849522.html

Op-Ed Contributor
A Step Toward Trust With China
By MIKE MULLEN

THE military relationship between the United States and China is one of the world’s most important. And yet, clouded by some misunderstanding and suspicion, it remains among the most challenging. There are issues on which we disagree and are tempted to confront each other. But there are crucial areas where our interests coincide, on which we must work together.
美中之间的军事关系是世界上最重要的。至目前为止，虽然双方有一些误解和猜忌，但是两国在一些关键领域仍存有共同利益，我们要为此努力。

So we need to make the relationship better, by seeking strategic trust.
两国战略互信，才能使双方关系更进一步。

How do we do that?
我们该怎样做？

First, we’ve got to keep talking. Dialogue is critical.
首先，两国需要展开对话，对话是异常重要的。

A good bit of misunderstanding between our militaries can be cleared up by reaching out to each other. We don’t have to give away secrets to make our intentions clear, just open up a little.
两国军队之间的误解有相当一部分可以通过接触来消除。双方不必暴露各自的军事机密来表明诚意，只需开放，加强交流。

That’s why I invited my counterpart in the People’s Liberation Army, Gen. Chen Bingde, to the United States in May, and it’s why he was my host in China two weeks ago. We broke new ground by, among other things, showing him Predator drone capabilities in detail and a live-fire exercise; the Chinese reciprocated with a tour of their latest submarine, a close look at an SU-27 jet fighter and a complex counterterrorism exercise.
因此我邀请对方同级官员，中国人民解放军陈秉德将军将军5月访美，礼尚往来，在陈将军的邀请下，两周前我也访问了中国。双方有突破性进展，我们向中方展示了掠食者无人侦察机的打击能力以及实弹演习【人民网译为“救火“演习】；中方回馈，向我方展示了最新型潜艇，苏-27战机，以及反恐作战演习。

Our discussions were candid and forthright. General Chen made no bones about his concerns about American arms sales to Taiwan, and I made it clear that the United States military will not shrink from our responsibilities to allies and partners. He said the P.L.A.’s strategic intentions were purely defensive; I said that neither the skills they were perfecting nor their investments seemed to support that argument.
双方对话坦白直率。陈将军亦毫无保留，表示关切美国对台军售问题，他称，中国人民解放军的战略意图纯粹是防卫性的。我重申美国军方一定履行作为战略伙伴的义务，并指出解放军的战术素养及军费投入都无法证明它是“防卫性“的。

Not exactly cordial, but at least we were talking.
虽然谈不上很诚恳，但至少我们在对话。

Second, we need to focus on the things we have in common.
第二，两国需要求同。

We’re both maritime nations with long coastlines and economies dependent on unhindered trade. We both face threats of drug trafficking, piracy and the movement of weapons of mass destruction. We both want stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Pakistan. We both recognize the need for coordinated international humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
两国同是拥有长长海岸线的海洋国家，经济都依赖自由贸易，同样面对来自毒品，走私以及大规模杀伤性武器的威胁，同样希望朝鲜半岛和平，同样认同国际人道主义援助以及扶贫的理念。

These are challenges we can tackle together, and missions we can plan and train for, and perhaps someday execute side by side. Our staffs signed a few initiatives in that regard, including a commitment to conduct joint counter-piracy exercises in the Gulf of Aden this year.
两国需要共同面对，解决一些问题，终有一天会并肩前进。在这种愿望下，美中将开展一系列军事交流项目，包括今年在亚丁湾进行联合反海盗演习。

Good steps all, but there is a long way to go.
迈出有进展性的步伐，后面仍有相当长一段路。

We still don’t see eye-to-eye with China over military operating rights in the South China Sea. We still don’t fully understand China’s justification for the rapid growth in its defense spending or its long-term military modernization goals. And we don’t believe that China should be allowed to resolve disputes in contested waters by coercing smaller nations. Instead, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has made clear, we advocate a collaborative diplomatic process among all parties to resolve disputes under international law. And we need better mechanisms to deal with inevitable tensions.
我们始终不认为中方拥有在南中国海调配军队的权利，也看不清楚中国在军费快速增长和长期军队现代化建设后面的真实意图，我们也不相信中国能够（被国际允许）通过压制弱小邻国来解决南海边界争端。

That said, these sticking points aren’t all bad. It’s all right to disagree sometimes, to have substantial differences.
有争议不全是坏事情，观点相左的情况时有发生，也是很正常的。

In fact, sometimes bluntness and honesty are exactly what’s needed to create strategic trust. And we will need more of it. Our military relations have only recently begun to thaw, but China’s government still uses them as a sort of thermostat to communicate displeasure. When they don’t like something we do, they cut off ties. That can’t be the model anymore. Nor can we, for our part, swing between engagement and over-reaction. That’s why the commitment by President Obama and President Hu Jintao to improve military-to-military relations is so important. Real trust has to start somewhere. And it shouldn’t be subject to shifting political winds.
事实上，取得战略互信，有时候需要双方更加坦诚，互相退让。美中军方间的关系开始回暖，但中方仍利用这种关系，在不认同我们某些做法的时候，切断双方联系。这种模式不能再持续下去了。同样，美方也不能采取在对话和过度反应之间摇摆的办法。因此奥巴马总统与胡锦涛总书记均认为加强双边军事合作非常重要。真正的互信要从某处开始，并且不受政治风向影响。

So, General Chen and I are considering more frequent discussions, more exercises, more personnel exchanges. We both believe that the younger generation of military officers is ready for closer contact, and that upon their shoulders rests the best hope for deeper, more meaningful trust.
我和陈将军都同意加强讨论，多搞联合演习和个人交流。我和他都认为年轻一代军官都已经准备好对话，以良好的愿望和心态迎接更深入的互信。

I’m not naïve. I understand the concerns of those who feel that any cooperation benefits China more than the United States. I just don’t agree. This relationship is too important to manage through blind suspicion and mistrust. We’ve tried that. It doesn’t work.
我不是想入非非，并且了解某些人认为加强合作有益于中国多于我国自身，我不同意这种观点，美中关系太重要了，过去的经验证明，盲目和猜忌不能解决问题。

I’m not suggesting we look the other way on serious issues, that we abandon healthy skepticism, or that we change our military’s focus on the region. But we need to keep communication open and work hard to improve each interaction.
我并不建议抛弃正确的审时度势，使用别的方式处理重大问题，或者改变我军在亚太地区的部署方针。但是美中双方需要加强沟通，努力改善关系。

We can shrink from this opportunity, or rise to it. We can let narrow interests and suspicion define our relationship, or work toward more transparency, more pragmatic expectations of each other, and more focus on our common challenges. That would be a great start toward strategic trust.
面对如此机遇，我国可以选择退缩，也可以从中变得强大；可以靠盲目猜忌去处理双边关系，也可以通过更长远的眼光，更加灵活的手法来迎接双方的共同挑战。这将是两国战略互信的一个重要开始。

Mike Mullen, a Navy admiral, is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
麦克·马伦，海军上将，系参谋长联席会议主席