美日專家呼籲加強兩國軍事同盟
The US and Japan should set up new military headquarters for missions to defend Okinawa and other islands as part of a broad revamp of their alliance, according to a group of top foreign policy experts from both countries.
根據一組美國和日本高級外交政策專家的說法，兩國應該爲保衛沖繩及其他島嶼設立新的軍事指揮部，作爲全面重組兩國同盟關係舉措的一部分。
Japanese officers should be embedded with a US task force headquarters for “First Island Chain missions” — the name strategists give to the string of islands running south-west from Japan’s mainland — with Japan setting up a similar command on the same base.
專家表示，爲“第一島鏈任務”設置的美國特遣部隊指揮部應該嵌入日本軍官，日方在同一個基地設立類似的指揮部。所謂第一島鏈(First Island Chain)，是戰略家爲從日本本土向西南方向延伸的一系列島嶼所起的名字。
Such a headquarters could further embroil the US with the disputed Senkaku Islands, a chain in the East China Sea controlled by Japan but claimed by China as the Diaoyu, where there are regular stand-offs between ships and aircraft from the two Asian countries.
這樣的指揮部可能會令美國進一步捲入有爭議的尖閣諸島(Senkaku Islands)問題。尖閣諸島是位於東中國海的一個島羣，由日本控制，但中國聲稱擁有其主權並稱其爲釣魚島及其附屬島嶼。目前中日這兩個亞洲國家的艦船和飛機時常在這個島羣附近發生對峙。
The report by a group including Richard Armitage, the former US deputy secretary of state, and Ryozo Kato, the former Japanese ambassador to Washington, indicates how China’s rise is pulling foreign policy establishments in Tokyo and Washington closer together.
該報告由包括美國前副國務卿理查德阿米蒂奇(Richard Armitage)和日本前駐美大使加藤良三(Ryozo Kato)在內的一個小組寫成。它表明中國的崛起正在促使東京和華盛頓的外交政策體制內人士相互靠攏。
It comes as Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has railed against the alliance as an unfair burden on the US.
該報告發布之際，共和黨總統參選人唐納德礠朗普(Donald Trump)抱怨日美同盟關係是對美國十分不公的一大負擔。
“The implication that somehow Japan got a better deal in the US-Japan alliance is crazy,” said John Hamre, president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and an author of the report, calling it a “foundational relationship” for both countries.
報告作者之一、華盛頓戰略與國際問題研究中心(Center for Strategic and International Studies，CSIS)總裁約翰哈姆雷(John Hamre)表示：“有關日本在某種程度上從美日同盟得到更多好處的暗示是瘋話。”他稱這一同盟關係對美日兩國都是“基礎性的關係”。
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, has put particular weight on improving relations with the US and, with its “pivot to Asia”, the Obama administration has generally reciprocated.
日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)尤其重視改善日美關係，而通過“轉向亞洲”戰略，奧巴馬政府也已從總體上回應了這一動作。
The report, written for CSIS and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Japan, says the next 15 years will be “one of the most testing times in the entire history of the alliance”. It says China’s rise will be the “primary geopolitical test” and the alliance should be strengthened to deal with “grey zone” coercion by China, such as its building of artificial islands in the South China Sea.
爲CSIS和日本笹川平和財團(Sasakawa Peace Foundation)所寫的這份報告表示，今後15年將是“美日同盟整個歷史上面臨最大考驗的時期之一”。該報告表示，中國的崛起將是“主要的地緣政治考驗”，應該加強美日同盟，以應對中國的“灰色地帶”脅迫行爲——比如在南中國海修建人造島嶼。
“The baseline of this report is China will be more powerful and a bit more aggressive,” said Noboru Yamaguchi, a retired lieutenant-general in the Ground Self-Defence Force, and another author of the report.
日本陸上自衛隊(Ground Self-Defence Force)已退役陸軍中將、該報告另一位作者山口升(Noboru Yamaguchi)表示：“該報告的基線是中國將更加強大，也會更加咄咄逼人一些。”
It calls for more co-ordination on everything from cyber security to relations with Russia; updated command and control mechanisms; and greater interoperability between Japanese and US forces.
報告呼籲雙方在從網絡安全到對俄關係的各個方面加強合作，升級指揮和控制機制，提高日美軍隊之間的協同運作。
The group also says the countries should speed up the relocation of US forces on the island of Okinawa and return some land occupied by US bases to Japan as early as possible.
這些專家還表示，兩國應加快沖繩島美軍部隊的基地搬遷工作，並儘快將美軍基地佔據的部分土地歸還日本。
“It is a simple military fact that the combined economic, military and technical capability of Japan and the US together is greater than that of China,” said Dennis Blair, chairman of Sasakawa USA and a former commander of the US Pacific fleet. With action to maintain that advantage, “conflict in this part of the world will not happen”, he said.
笹川美國(Sasakawa USA)基金會主席、美國太平洋艦隊前總司令丹尼斯布萊爾(Dennis Blair)表示：“日本和美國聯合起來的經濟、軍事和技術實力大於中國是一個簡單的軍事事實。”他說，通過採取行動保持這一優勢，“世界的這一地區將不會發生衝突”。
