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【中文标题】迈出信任中国的一步
【原文标题】A Step Toward Trust With China
【登载媒体】纽约时报
【原文作者】MIKE MULLEN
【原文链接】http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/opinion/26Mullen.html?_r=1&ref=china
美国与中国之间的军事关系是世界上最重要的问题之一，然而笼罩在一些误解和猜疑中，它也是最具有挑战性的问题之一。这里有我们意见相左的地方，也有容易引发冲突的领域。但在一些关键问题上，我们的利益是一致的，因此我们必须通力合作。
所以我们需要通过战略信任，让双方之间的关系向好的方向发展。
那么我们怎样做到这一点呢？
首先，我们必须保持对话，这是至关重要的。
只要主动与对方接触，我们之间很大一部分的军事误解就会消除。我们不需要将军事秘密和盘托出，只需要稍微保持一点开放的态度。
这就是为什么我在5月份邀请我的同行——人民解放军的陈炳德将军——到美国访问，也是他为什么邀请我在两个星期前到中国做客的原因。我们展开了前所未有的战略对话，我向他介绍了“掠夺者”无人作战机的细节，并进行了实战演习。作为报答，中国人邀请我参观他们最新型的潜艇，还近距离观察了SU-27型喷气式战斗机和一场综合的反恐演习。
我们的谈话既直率又坦诚。陈将军毫不掩饰他对美国对台军售的担忧，我明确地说，美国军方不会因为害怕而放弃对盟友和伙伴的责任。他说人民解放军的战略目的完全是防御性的，我说你们穷兵黩武的行动和军费支出似乎都不能证明这个目的。
这算不上是热情友好的态度，但至少我们在对话。
其次，我们需要关注双方的共同点。
我们都是沿海国家，都有漫长的海岸线，经济都依赖于自由贸易。我们共同面对贩毒、海盗和大规模杀伤性武器的威胁。我们都希望朝鲜半岛和巴基斯坦局势稳定。我们都认同协调的国际人道主义援助和灾难救助行为。
这些挑战我们可以合作应对，我们计划和训练的目的就是为了完成这些任务，或许有一天我们真的会并肩作战。我们曾经签署了一些有关的协议，包括今年在亚丁湾签署的联合反海盗承诺书。
进展似乎还不错，但前方的路依然很长。
在南中国海的军事权问题上，我们依然和中国看不对眼。我们依然无法完全理解中国迅速膨胀的军费开支和长期军事现代化进程的理由，我们也不相信中国在有争议的海域可以通过强迫小国来解决争端。实际上，就像国务卿希拉里克林顿曾经指出的，我们提倡在国际法的前提下，与各方展开合作外交进程来解决争端，我们需要一个更好的机制来处理不可避免的紧张局势。
也就是说，这些问题并非都是负面的。我们可以有不同意见，也可以保留自身的重大分歧。
实际上，有时候直率和坦诚是建立战略信任所必须的品质，这样的品质越多越好。我们的军事关系刚刚开始有缓和的迹象，但是中国政府依然把它当作散布不愉快情绪的手段。一旦他们不喜欢我们做的某些事，就马上停止沟通。这不应当成为一个榜样，从我们自身来讲，也不能在合作与对抗之间摇摆不定。这就是为什么奥巴马总统和胡锦涛主席强调军事关系重要性的原因之一。必须开始真正的信任，它不可以随政治风向而时有时无。
于是，陈将军和我在考虑更频繁的对话、更多演习和更多的个人意见交换。我们都相信，年轻一代的军事领导人已经准备好进行更密切的接触，他们的肩头担负着建立更深层次、更有意义的信任的伟大使命。
我并不幼稚，我知道有些人认为，双方的合作会让中国受益更多，美国受益更少。我只不过不同意这样的观点。这种关系是如此的重要，以至于我们不能盲目地利用猜疑和不信任来做判断。以前我们就是这样做的，没有好结果。
我不是在说我们避而不谈一些关键问题，比如放弃合理的谨慎和怀疑，以及我们要在这个地区改变军事侧重。但是我们一定要保持畅通的交流渠道，努力改善双方的互动关系。
我们可以放弃这个机会，也可以勇敢地迎接这个机会。我们可以让狭隘的利益主义和怀疑主义占据双方之间的关系，也可以期待对方表现出透明和务实的态度，并且更加关注我们共同面临的挑战。这会让我们向战略信任迈出伟大的一步。
原文：
THE military relationship between the United States and China is one of the world’s most important. And yet, clouded by some misunderstanding and suspicion, it remains among the most challenging. There are issues on which we disagree and are tempted to confront each other. But there are crucial areas where our interests coincide, on which we must work together.
So we need to make the relationship better, by seeking strategic trust.
How do we do that?
First, we’ve got to keep talking. Dialogue is critical.
A good bit of misunderstanding between our militaries can be cleared up by reaching out to each other. We don’t have to give away secrets to make our intentions clear, just open up a little.
That’s why I invited my counterpart in the People’s Liberation Army, Gen. Chen Bingde, to the United States in May, and it’s why he was my host in China two weeks ago. We broke new ground by, among other things, showing him Predator drone capabilities in detail and a live-fire exercise; the Chinese reciprocated with a tour of their latest submarine, a close look at an SU-27 jet fighter and a complex counterterrorism exercise.
Our discussions were candid and forthright. General Chen made no bones about his concerns about American arms sales to Taiwan, and I made it clear that the United States military will not shrink from our responsibilities to allies and partners. He said the P.L.A.’s strategic intentions were purely defensive; I said that neither the skills they were perfecting nor their investments seemed to support that argument.
Not exactly cordial, but at least we were talking.
Second, we need to focus on the things we have in common.
We’re both maritime nations with long coastlines and economies dependent on unhindered trade. We both face threats of drug trafficking, piracy and the movement of weapons of mass destruction. We both want stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Pakistan. We both recognize the need for coordinated international humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
These are challenges we can tackle together, and missions we can plan and train for, and perhaps someday execute side by side. Our staffs signed a few initiatives in that regard, including a commitment to conduct joint counter-piracy exercises in the Gulf of Aden this year.
Good steps all, but there is a long way to go.
We still don’t see eye-to-eye with China over military operating rights in the South China Sea. We still don’t fully understand China’s justification for the rapid growth in its defense spending or its long-term military modernization goals. And we don’t believe that China should be allowed to resolve disputes in contested waters by coercing smaller nations. Instead, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has made clear, we advocate a collaborative diplomatic process among all parties to resolve disputes under international law. And we need better mechanisms to deal with inevitable tensions.
That said, these sticking points aren’t all bad. It’s all right to disagree sometimes, to have substantial differences.
In fact, sometimes bluntness and honesty are exactly what’s needed to create strategic trust. And we will need more of it. Our military relations have only recently begun to thaw, but China’s government still uses them as a sort of thermostat to communicate displeasure. When they don’t like something we do, they cut off ties. That can’t be the model anymore. Nor can we, for our part, swing between engagement and over-reaction. That’s why the commitment by President Obama and President Hu Jintao to improve military-to-military relations is so important. Real trust has to start somewhere. And it shouldn’t be subject to shifting political winds.
So, General Chen and I are considering more frequent discussions, more exercises, more personnel exchanges. We both believe that the younger generation of military officers is ready for closer contact, and that upon their shoulders rests the best hope for deeper, more meaningful trust.
I’m not naïve. I understand the concerns of those who feel that any cooperation benefits China more than the United States. I just don’t agree. This relationship is too important to manage through blind suspicion and mistrust. We’ve tried that. It doesn’t work.
I’m not suggesting we look the other way on serious issues, that we abandon healthy skepticism, or that we change our military’s focus on the region. But we need to keep communication open and work hard to improve each interaction.
We can shrink from this opportunity, or rise to it. We can let narrow interests and suspicion define our relationship, or work toward more transparency, more pragmatic expectations of each other, and more focus on our common challenges. That would be a great start toward strategic trust. |
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