波羅的海俄潛艇傳聞引發地區緊張
Sweden’s hunt for a foreign submarine – presumed to be Russian – entered its fourth day in a chase outside Stockholm that has evoked memories of the cold war and further heightened tensions in the Baltic sea.
瑞典對外國潛艇的搜索進入第四天，這一對斯德哥爾摩外圍的搜尋行動引發了人們對冷戰的記憶，進一步加劇了波羅的海的緊張局勢。
Sweden’s armed forces on Sunday released a picture of what is believed to be the submarine and said there had been three sightings of it, two on Friday and one on Sunday, as it appeared to move south.
週日，瑞典軍方披露了一張據信是潛艇的照片，並表示曾有三次發現這艘潛艇，其中兩次是在週五，還有一次是在週日。依據照片顯示，這艘潛艇似乎在向南移動。The operation, involving hundreds of military personnel in minesweepers, helicopters, boats and aircraft, has sparked flashbacks to a series of hunts of Soviet submarines in the 1980s, most notably when one ran aground off the southern Swedish town of Karlskrona.
這次軍事行動中，瑞典出動了多艘掃雷艦、直升機、其他類型艦艇和飛機，參與的軍方人員達數百名。這令人感覺彷彿是上世紀80年代對蘇聯潛艇的一系列搜尋活動再次出現。當時最著名的是一艘蘇聯潛艇曾擱淺在瑞典南部城鎮卡爾斯克魯納。
Concern is growing across the Baltic area about Russia’s intentions after numerous incidents, from incursions into the airspace of Sweden and Finland – the only countries in the region aside from Russia not in Nato – to the abduction of an Estonian intelligence agent.
此前，俄羅斯還曾侵犯過瑞典和芬蘭兩國（這兩國是波羅的海除俄羅斯以外僅有的兩個非北約(Nato)國家）領空，並曾綁架過愛沙尼亞的情報人員。在經歷這一系列事件之後，人們對波羅的海安全局勢的擔憂與日俱增。The drama began on Friday when Sweden’s military said a credible source had informed it of “foreign underwater activity” in the large archipelago outside Stockholm. The armed forces have refused to comment on the nationality of the craft they are seeking, which could be a mini-submarine, underwater vessel or full-sized submarine.
這一戲劇性的事件始於上週五。當時，瑞典軍方曾表示，可靠情報來源顯示，斯德哥爾摩郊外的大規模羣島中存在“外國艦艇的水下活動”。瑞典軍方搜尋的這艘艦艇可能是微型潛艇、水下船隻或全尺寸潛艇，但他們對艦艇的國籍拒絕置評。But Svenska Dagbladet, a Swedish newspaper that last year revealed that Russia had simulated a bombing raid on Stockholm, said on Saturday that intelligence officials had picked up a distress call on a frequency used by Russians.
不過，《瑞典日報》(Svenska Dagbladet)週六表示，情報官員用俄羅斯人常用的頻率截聽到了求救信號。去年《瑞典日報》曾披露，俄羅斯曾演練過針對斯德哥爾摩的空襲。This led to speculation that a damaged Russian submarine was somewhere in Swedish waters, further fuelled by the sighting of a Russian oil tanker in international waters off Stockholm that could be used in a rescue, according to defence experts.
該報道令人不禁猜測，有一艘損壞的俄羅斯潛艇正潛伏在瑞典海域的某處，斯德哥爾摩附近公海海域出現的一個俄羅斯油箱又加深了這一猜測。根據防務專家的說法，這隻油箱是營救行動中可能會用到的。Russia’s defence ministry on Sunday denied that any of its submarines were in an emergency or irregular situation anywhere in the world.
週日，俄羅斯國防部否認了這種說法，稱俄羅斯沒有任何潛艇處於緊急狀態或位於全球非常規地區。But later the Swedish armed forces said it was “probable” that there was foreign submarine activity in the archipelago, the highest risk assessment except verification.
不過，瑞典軍方隨後表示，波羅的海羣島水域“很可能”存在外國潛艇活動，這是僅次於“確認”的最高風險評級。The hunt for the submarine provides an early test for Sweden’s new centre-left government, which is more hostile to the idea of Nato membership than its centre-right ern has been raised over the ability of the Swedish armed forces to defend the country for more than a few days, especially the strategically important island of Gotland in the Baltic.
瑞典此次軍事行動受到該地區廣泛關注。拉脫維亞外交部長埃德加斯•林克維奇斯(Edgars Rinkevics)週末曾在Twitter上發消息稱：“密切關注瑞典領海的事件，它們很可能改變整個波羅的海地區安全事務的遊戲規則。”
