中国大陆承诺为台湾渔民提供护渔服务

The Sino-Japanese dispute over a contested group of islands in the East China Sea took another turn on Wednesday when Beijing vowed to protect fishing boats from Taiwan – which also claims the islands – from the Japanese coast guard.

中日围绕东海一个有争议群岛的纠纷周三出现一个新的转折，北京方面誓言保护台湾渔船（台湾也宣称拥有相关海岛的主权）不受日本海上保安厅的驱赶。

The pledge highlights efforts by Beijing to seize on regional territorial disputes to strengthen its sovereignty claim over Taiwan itself, amid improving cross-Strait ties.

这一承诺突显出，在台海两岸关系好转的大背景下，北京方面以地区性领土纠纷为契机，努力加强其对台湾本身的主权主张。

“Mainland government ships are already providing services to fishermen from both sides of the Strait,” said Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office. “The two sides of the strait are one family. Brothers, even if they argue at home, should stand united against aggression from outside.”

“大陆公务船已经并将继续在该海域巡航执法、护渔维权，为两岸渔民提供服务，”北京的国务院台湾事务办公室表示。“两岸同胞是一家人，‘兄弟阋于墙，外御其侮’。”

The statement follows a confrontation this week between the Japanese and Taiwanese coast guards near the Senkaku Islands, which are controlled by Japan but claimed by Beijing and Taipei.

北京方面作出这一声明之前，本周日本海上保安厅和台湾海岸巡防署舰船在尖阁诸岛（Senkaku Islands，中国称其为“钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿”——译者注）附近海域发生对峙。这个群岛在日本实际控制之下，但北京和台北宣称拥有其主权。

The Taiwanese coast guard vessels were escorting fishing vessels that sailed into Japanese territorial waters off the islands to protest Japan’s recent decision to purchase them from their private Japanese owner.

台湾海巡署舰船当时在为进入这些岛屿周围日本领海的渔船提供护航，台湾渔船此举是为了抗议日本中央政府近期决定从私人所有者手中买下这些海岛。

While Taiwan’s claim to the Senkaku overlaps with Beijing’s, Taipei is normally low-key about it. Fifty years of Japanese rule between 1895 and 1945 have left Taiwan with a close affinity to Japan which sharply contrasts with the anti-Japanese sentiment in China. Since the Kuomintang party was defeated by the Communists in the Chinese civil war and fled to Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has claimed the island as its territory and threatened to take it with military force.

尽管台湾对尖阁诸岛的主权主张与北京的主张重叠，但台北方面通常低调对待这个问题。从1895年至1945年，50年的日治时期使台湾与日本结缘，这与中国大陆的反日情绪形成反差。自1949年国民党在中国内战中被共产党击败，逃到台湾以来，北京方面一直声称该岛是其领土，并威胁用武力攻占台湾。

The extent to which China and Taiwan have come closer since Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwanese president in 2008 has raised some concerns regionally and in Washington about what could happen if the two began to co-operate militarily.

自2008年马英九(Ma Ying-jeou)成为台湾总统以来，中国大陆和台湾关系走近的程度已引起本地区和华盛顿一些人士的担忧，他们担心的是，如果台海两岸在军事上开始合作将会发生什么。

Analysts say any sign of Taiwan cosying up to China would affect east Asia’s security architecture as the island is unofficially part of the US alliance network in the region.

分析人士表示，台湾与中国大陆联手的任何迹象，都将影响东亚的安全架构，因为该岛是美国在本地区同盟网络的非正式成员。

Richard Bush, a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, the US representative office in Taipei, last month said that while economic issues have led the past few years of cross-Strait talks, “there has been talk, particularly on the mainland, about moving into political and security areas”.

曾任美国在台湾的代表处——美国在台协会(American Institute in Taiwan)主席的卜睿哲(Richard Bush)上月表示，尽管经济议题在过去几年主导着两岸商谈，但“有一些探讨政治和安全领域事项的言论，尤其是在大陆方面。”

One Taiwanese envoy who has held unofficial talks with China said people close to the Chinese military have repeatedly suggested that the mainland and Taiwan could co-operate in areas such as search and rescue in the South China Sea.

曾与大陆方面举行非正式商谈的一名台湾特使表示，接近中国军方的人士多次提议，大陆和台湾可在南海进行搜救方面的合作。

But Taiwan is keen to avoid just this. It cherishes its de-facto independence and relies on the US for protection against China’s claim of sovereignty and Beijing’s threat to use force to reclaim it.

但是台湾努力回避这种合作。台方珍视其事实上的独立，并依靠美国抵御中国的主权主张和北京方面的动武威胁。

The US’s Taiwan Relations Act requires that America help Taiwan defend itself in the case of aggression from China. Doubts about Taipei’s loyalties could undermine support in Washington to this commitment, which is already less popular as it is a constant irritant in US ties with China.

美国《与台湾关系法》(Taiwan Relations Act)要求美方在台湾遭到中国侵犯的情况下协防台湾。对于台北方面忠诚度的疑虑，可能削弱华盛顿对这一承诺的支持。美方对这一承诺的支持度已经有所降低，因为它是美中关系中一个持续存在的麻烦。