失聯航班搜救 多國協調出現裂痕

Recriminations are beginning in earnest over the protracted search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, with both China and Vietnam venting their frustration with the slow progress of the mission and what they view as poor coordination of the effort.

對於長時間搜救馬來西亞航空(Malaysia Airlines, 簡稱：馬航) 370航班下落的行動，各方真要開始相互指責了。中國和越南都對相關任務的緩慢進展和協調不力表達了失望之情。

Ten countries are currently helping to scour the seas around Malaysia, including China, the U.S. and Vietnam. Taiwanese vessels are expected to be on the scene by Friday. It is a major multinational effort. In all, 56 surface ships are taking part in the search, according to statements issued by the contributing governments, with Malaysia providing 27 of them. In addition, 30 fixed-wing aircraft are also searching, with at least 10 shipboard helicopters available, mostly in the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam.

目前有10個國家和地區對馬來西亞周邊海域的搜救出力，包括中國大陸、美國和越南。臺灣船隻預計將在週五前抵達搜救現場。這是一個規模龐大的多國行動。參與行動的各政府公佈的聲明顯示，總計有56艘水面船隻參與搜救，其中馬來西亞出動了27艘。有30架固定翼飛機也在從事搜救工作，另有至少10架艦載直升機可以動用，搜救重點位於馬來西亞和越南之間的海域。

The mission hasn't turned up much thus far. Malaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein told The Wall Street Journal in brief remarks Wednesday that there was still no sign of the plane, which vanished without trace early Saturday morning, just under an hour into its flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

但到目前爲止，相關任務卻收效甚微。馬來西亞交通部長希山慕丁(Hishamuddin Hussein)週三對《華爾街日報》(The Wall Street Journal)簡短置評稱，目前仍沒有飛機的下落。上週六凌晨，這架飛機從吉隆坡飛往北京，但起飛後不到一小時就消失了蹤跡。

'It's going to be [a] long-drawn' affair,' Mr. Hishamuddin said.

希山慕丁說，這將是一個持續很久的過程。

His assessment appears likely to amplify the growing tension over how the search is being handled. China's government is especially aggrieved. More than 150 of the 227 passengers and 12 crew aboard Flight 370 are Chinese, and family members in Beijing have at times loudly expressed their frustration over the absence of fresh leads on the whereabouts of the missing plane.

目前圍繞搜救執行情況的緊張事態正在升溫，而希山慕丁對事況的評估似乎有可能使事態變得越發緊張。中國政府更是感到憤憤不平。在馬航370航班的227名乘客和12名機組成員中，有超過150名中國人，而這些人在北京的家屬多次大聲表達了對失聯客機下落缺乏新線索的失望。

On Tuesday, Beijing pointedly pushed Malaysia to speed up the search and accompanying investigation. 'We want Malaysia to work harder and speed up efforts on behalf of the families,' said Qin Gang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry. On Wednesday, Mr. Qin again called for Malaysia to step up its efforts. More than a dozen stern-faced Chinese diplomats met with Malaysian officials for a progress report on the search and, according to a Malaysian official who asked not to be identified, offered to contribute more Chinese resources to the effort.

中國政府週二用強硬措辭敦促馬來西亞加快搜救和相關調查行動。中國外交部發言人秦剛說，中方希望馬方能加快調查速度，加大搜救力度，儘快給中方、給乘客家屬一個交代。秦剛週三再次呼籲馬來西亞做出更大努力。十幾位面色嚴峻的中國外交人員就搜救進展報告與馬來西亞官員舉行了會晤，據一位不願透露姓名的馬來西亞官員稱，中國外交官提出中國可以爲馬來西亞的相關努力提供更多資源。

The mission has been hampered by false leads and conflicting reports.

一些假線索和相互矛盾的報告給搜救工作造成了難度。

They range from sightings of suspected wreckage, which turned out to be other kinds of debris, to oil slicks that later turned out to be bunker oil left by passing ships and not jet fuel. Even radar-data reports are muddying an already murky picture. Early Wednesday, for instance, Malaysia's air force chief denied saying he had told local media that military radar facilities had tracked the plane to near a rocky outcrop on the other side of Malaysia, in the Strait of Malacca.

最初有疑似殘骸被發現，但結果卻是其他類型的殘片。也有水面浮油被發現，但結果卻是過往船隻留下的燃油，而非航空燃油。即便是雷達數據報告也使本已模糊的事態變得更加撲朔迷離。比如在週三早晨，馬來西亞空軍司令就否認他對當地媒體說過，軍用雷達設施最後追蹤到失聯客機是在馬來西亞另一側的馬六甲海峽的一處島嶼附近。

Gen. Rodzali Daud described the reports as 'inaccurate and incorrect', and fell back to his familiar line that Malaysia and its air forces are still examining all possibilities.

馬來西亞空軍司令Rodzali Daud稱該報道“失實”，並重復他之前的說法稱，馬來西亞及其空軍仍在調查所有的可能性。

The confusion was enough to trigger consequences for the search. Vietnam early Wednesday said it was suspending flights after getting wind of the radar report. It kept four search planes on the ground while it waited for clarification from Malaysia. Vietnamese officials later returned to air search after getting word from Malaysia that the operation was still on in the South China Sea off Vietnam's coast.

這種不確定足以給搜索行動帶來影響。在聽到上述雷達報告的消息後，越南週三早間稱將暫停空中搜索活動。在等待馬來西亞方面做出說明的同時，越南停飛四架執行搜索任務的飛機。後來，越南官員從馬來西亞方面得到消息稱越南附近南中國海（中國稱南海）海域的搜索行動仍在進行，越南隨後恢復了空中搜索工作。

So why is it proving so difficult to find any sign of Flight 370?

事實證明找到MH370航班的蹤跡很難。爲什麼會這樣？

Aviation experts say the absence of an electronic signal from the plane before it disappeared from radar screens makes it difficult to pin down possible locations. What's more, radar data suggests the Boeing 777 might have tried to turn back to Kuala Lumpur before contact was lost, a detail that prompted a search for the plane on both sides of the Malaysian peninsula.

航空專家表示，飛機在從雷達屏幕上消失前沒有發出任何電子信號，這使搜救隊很難確定飛機的可能位置。此外，雷達數據顯示，這架波音777客機在失去與地面的聯絡前可能曾試圖折返回吉隆坡。這個細節使搜救隊在馬來半島兩側都開始進行搜索。

That information radically expanded the size of the search zone, which already was proving a challenge to cover effectively.

這一信息使搜索範圍大幅擴大。而之前的搜索範圍已經使搜救隊很難有效覆蓋了。

Malaysian authorities divided the search area into several sectors on either side of the country, as well as areas on land. The challenge, said Lt. David Levy, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, isn't so much coordination as the sheer size of the area involved. The search grids are up to 20 miles by 120 miles (32 milometers by 193 kilometers), and ships and aircraft employ an exhaustive, methodical pattern 'like mowing your lawn' in their search for the plane, he said.

馬來西亞有關部門將該國兩側以及陸地的搜索區域都劃分爲幾塊。美國海軍第七艦隊發言人利維(David Levy)中尉說，在涉及到的搜索範圍很大的情況下，搜索行動缺乏協調。他說，搜索區域寬20英里（32公里）、長120英里（193公里），船隻和飛機在搜索失聯客機時採用一種地毯式的、系統性的模式，就像在草坪上除草一樣。

A U.S. Navy P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft has been searching the northern Strait of Malacca, west of Malaysia, he said, while destroyers USS Kidd and USS Pinckney have been deploying helicopters in the Gulf of Thailand to the east.

他表示，美國海軍的一艘P-3C“獵戶星座”海上巡邏機一直在馬來西亞西邊的馬六甲海峽北部進行搜索，同時“基德”號(USS Kidd)和“平克尼”號(USS Pinckney)驅逐艦在東邊的泰國灣調遣直升機。

So far the U.S., like other nations taking part in the search, have had no success. Many aviation experts are concluding that searchers might not have been looking in the right places after four days of trying to locate Flight 370. Even if the plane broke up in midair, it would have left telltale traces of debris in the ocean.

目前爲止，與其他參與搜救行動的國家一樣，美國也沒有任何發現。在對MH370航班的搜救工作進行了四天後，很多航空專家開始認爲，搜救人員並未在正確的地點展開搜救。即便是客機在空中解體，也會在海中留下一些殘骸。

The cracks now emerging between some of the participants in the search could make it even more difficult.

眼下，一些參與搜索的國家和地區之間開始出現裂縫，這可能加大搜索工作的難度。