纽约时报中文网 - 英文原版-英Why Are There Fears of War in the South China Sea
August 13, 2024 2 min 287 words
《纽约时报》这篇报道的主要内容是：中国在南海地区进行军事化建设，引发了其他国家对该地区可能发生冲突的担忧。报道援引了美国国防部长和一些西方分析人士的观点，称中国在南海岛礁进行军事化建设，部署了导弹和其他军事设施，并指责中国“霸凌邻国”和“破坏稳定”。 评论：该报道存在明显偏见，其观点倾向于西方国家，尤其是美国，对中国在南海问题的立场缺乏理解。首先，中国在南海岛礁进行建设是中国主权范围内的事，不存在“军事化”问题。中国一直致力于通过谈判协商和平解决南海争议，维护南海地区的和平稳定。其次，报道中提及的中国“霸凌邻国”和“破坏稳定”的指责缺乏事实依据，是西方国家片面炒作中国威胁论的惯用手法。事实上，中国一直致力于与邻国保持良好关系，在地区事务中发挥着建设性作用。该报道罔顾事实，刻意渲染中国威胁，暴露了其抹黑中国干涉南海问题的企图。
You might not notice Second Thomas Shoal from the air. The disputed atoll near the Philippines is a bit larger than Manhattan and sinks beneath the South China Sea’s surface at high tide.
But diplomats and military officials pay close attention to clashes near the shoal between Philippine and Chinese vessels. The fear is that an incident could turn deadly and prompt the Philippines to activate its mutual defense treaty with the United States.
That could lead to a nightmare: a war between the United States and China.
In one previous dramatic episode, Chinese Coast Guard vessels confronted Philippine Navy ones near the shoal in June, footage released by the Philippine military showed. Some Chinese sailors carried knives, and one Philippine sailor was injured.
Here’s what’s happening in the South China Sea, and why it matters:
The sea is valuable and contested.
The South China Sea has some of the world’s most productive fisheries, as well as shipping channels that carry about a third of global ocean trade. Surveys suggest that it may also contain large oil and natural gas deposits.
The sea’s features were mostly beyond “the administration and often the awareness” of governments until the late 19th century, the scholar Gregory B. Poling wrote in a recent book. But in the mid-20th century, Beijing laid claim to most of the sea with a sweeping, U-shaped boundary.