China’s largest ever naval manoeuvres in the disputed South China Sea were a routine training exercise, the defence ministry said in its first comments about a deployment of 40 warships carried out this week.
中国国防部首次对本周中国40多艘舰艇在南海集聚发表评论，称中国在有争议的南中国海展开的史上规模最大的海军演练是例行性安排。
The ships included China’s only operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, accompanied by dozens of other vessels sailing south of the Chinese island province of Hainan. They were recorded by satellite images first published on Monday.数十艘舰艇伴随中国唯一服役的航空母舰“辽宁号”，在海南省以南海域航行。整个编队被周一发布的卫星图像记录到。Analysts said the exercises sent a message to western navies to steer clear of the South China Sea. China claims about 85 per cent of the disputed sea and has built a half-dozen artificial islands to buttress its assertion.分析人士表示，此次演练向西方国家海军发出一条信息，要求它们避开南中国海。中国宣称对这一有争议海域的大约85%拥有主权，并已构筑了六个人工岛来支持其主张。Yue Gang, a retired colonel in the Peoples’ Liberation Army, said the manoeuvres were likely to be a direct response to an exercise by the USS Carl Vinson, a US supercarrier that sailed through the area in February.解放军退役上校岳刚表示，此次演练很可能是对美国卡尔文森号航空母舰(USS Carl Vinson) 2月份通过南海的回应。China’s show of naval strength also hinted that Beijing was frustrated about regular visits by US warships — known as freedom of navigation operations — to disputed waters claimed by China.中国海军展示实力还暗示，北京方面对美国军舰常态化进入中国宣称拥有主权的争议水域——被称为航行自由行动——感到不满。“This is certainly the largest scale [operation] in the South China Sea region,” said Mr Yue. “The US aircraft carrier has stayed long within this region. China now is showing that it’s not afraid.”“这肯定是南海地区规模最大的行动，”岳刚表示。“美国的航空母舰在这个地区停留了很久。中国现在表明它并不害怕。”Ren Guoqiang, China’s defence ministry spokesman, said on Thursday that the ships were carrying out routine training, and that the manoeuvres were not directed at any country.中国国防部发言人任国强周四表示，这些舰艇在进行例行训练，并非针对任何国家。“It’s aim is to test the training capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army and enhance their training capabilities. It is also aimed at improving combat abilities of the whole military,” he said.“目的是检验和提高部队训练水平，全面提升部队打赢能力，”他表示。The exercise by the PLA Navy was also likely intended to send a message about China’s resolve over the breakaway territory of Taiwan, experts said. The Liaoning sailed through the straights of Taiwan to get to the exercise location, angering Taipei.专家们表示，解放军海军的演练也可能意在表明中国对于分离领土台湾的决心。辽宁舰在前往演练水域途中直接穿越台湾海峡，令台北方面愤怒。“With the addition of the carrier, that’s the biggest show of force I have ever seen the PLAN conduct in all my years of PLA watching,” said Gary Li, an expert on the Chinese military with APCO Worldwide, a consultancy in Beijing. He said it would also send a strong message to the US as it considered imposing tough trade measures against China.“随着航空母舰加入编队，这是我关注解放军这么多年来看到的解放军海军的最大规模实力展示，”北京咨询公司安可(APCO Worldwide)的Gary Li表示。他说，在美国考虑对中国采取强硬的贸易措施之际，这也将向美国发出强有力的信息。“It’s a clear message to the Americans that territorial sovereignty is not up for discussion over the trade talks,” he said.
“这对美方是一个明确的信息，即领土主权不是贸易谈判中的一个议题，”他表示。The manoeuvres appeared to be intended mainly to show presence, with ships sailing in a line, rather than practising surface combat.此次演习似乎主要是为了展示存在，因为舰艇排成纵队航行，而没有演练水面作战的战斗队形。Euan Graham, director of the Lowy Institute in Sydney, called the exercise “a giant floating photo opportunity”.悉尼智库洛伊研究所(Lowy Institute)的主任尤安?格雷厄姆(Euan Graham)形容此次演练是“一个巨大的漂浮拍照机会”。“But any operational significance is more for the midterm future, once China’s navy starts to operate more powerful aircraft carriers,” he said. Liaoning, with its Soviet warship hull and “ski jump” deck, was little more than a training vessel, he said.“但是，任何重大作战意义在更大程度上仍是中期未来的事情，也就是要等到中国海军有更强大的航空母舰入列之后，”他表示。他说，就凭“辽宁舰”的苏式军舰船身和滑跃起飞甲板，它比一艘训练舰强不了多少。