美國稱兩架B52轟炸機本週曾飛抵南中南海

Two US B52 bombers flew a mission over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea this week, the Pentagon said on Thursday, and received a verbal warning from Chinese air traffic controllers not to enter what Beijing believes to be Chinese airspace.

週四美國五角大樓表示，兩架B52轟炸機本週曾飛近南中南海的斯普拉特利羣島(Spratly Islands,中國稱南沙羣島)，並收到了中國空中交通管制員的警告，要求它們不得進入中國政府眼中的中國空域。

The Pentagon said the aircraft did not fly within 12 nautical miles of any of the contested land features in the area and the missions were not intended as a challenge to any of the various territorial claims in the South China Sea.

五角大樓表示，美軍飛機沒有飛入該地區存在爭議的地物周圍12海里上空，任務目的並非對中國在南中國海的任何主權聲索發起挑戰。

Peter Cook, Pentagon press secretary, said the B52s were operating in “international airspace” and continued their mission “unchanged” after being warned by Chinese controllers.

五角大樓新聞祕書彼得錠克(Peter Cook)表示，兩家B52轟炸機當時在“國際空域”執行任務，在收到中方管制員的警告後，繼續執行任務，“沒有任何改變”。

The incident follows the Obama administration’s long-awaited decision two weeks ago to send a navy destroyer within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese artificial island in an attempt to challenge claims being made to the seas surrounding the land feature.

發生此事兩週之前，奧巴馬政府作出了期待已久的決定，派出海軍一艘驅逐艦駛入一處中國人工島嶼的12海里區域，試圖挑戰中國對該島周圍海域的主權聲索。

The warnings to the B52s, which flew missions from Guam on November 8 and 9, are the latest example of friction between the US and China as Beijing expands its military presence in an area that has been dominated for seven decades by the US Navy. Many analysts and military officials believe that the main risk is not a military confrontation between the two countries but some sort of accident as the two militaries come into closer contact that then becomes politically explosive.

這兩架B52轟炸機是在11月8日和11月9日飛離關島執行任務的。中國對其發出警告，是北京方面在被美國海軍主宰了數十年的區域擴大軍事存在之際，中美之間產生摩擦的最新一例。許多分析人士和軍方官員認爲，主要風險不在於兩國之間會發生軍事對抗，而在於，兩軍的更近距離接觸將導致某類事件在政治方面產生爆炸性影響。