中国和美国周末围绕南中国海问题在一个防务论坛上针锋相对。中国一名海军上将警告华盛顿方面称：中国“不怕事”。

Tensions surrounding these contested waters have been rising amid island-building by Beijing, increased naval and air patrols by the US and the expectation that an international court will soon rule on an arbitration case brought by the Philippines against China’s expansive maritime claims.

围绕南海争议海域的紧张局势不断升级，其背景是北京方面建设人工岛，美国增加海空巡逻，同时一个国际仲裁庭预计不久将对菲律宾提起的反对中国大范围声索海洋主权的仲裁案作出裁决。

China has been trying to find other nations such as Russia that are willing to support its rejection of the legitimacy of the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague. Meanwhile, the US, the EU and Japan have said they support the right of the Philippines to bring the case under the provisions of the UN law of the sea, which the US itself has not ratified.

中国一直在试图寻求其他国家（如俄罗斯）表态支持其不承认海牙常设仲裁法院合法性的立场。与此同时，美国、欧盟和日本均已表态称，菲律宾有权利根据《联合国海洋法公约》(UNCLOS)的规定提起此案，尽管美国自己尚未批准《公约》。

Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the joint staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, on Sunday blamed the US for exacerbating the disputes by “openly showing its military muscle” and supporting “allies that are confronting China and forcing China to accept any arbitration award”.

中央军事委员会联合参谋部副参谋长、解放军海军上将孙建国周日指责美国“公然炫耀武力”，同时“支持其盟国对抗中国，压中方接受并执行仲裁结果”，加剧了争端。

“China firmly opposes such behaviour,” he told an audience of defence ministers, generals and analysts at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum in Singapore. “We do not make trouble but we have no fear of trouble.”

“中方对此坚决反对，”他在新加坡举行的年度安全论坛“香格里拉对话”(Shangri-La Dialogue)对台下的各国国防部长、将军和分析人员表示。“我们不惹事，也不怕事。”

He also hit back at the claim made in Singapore a day earlier by Ashton Carter, the US secretary of defence, that China was building a “great wall of self-isolation” because of its aggressive approach to the other claimants to these waters, including the Philippines and Vietnam.

他还回击了美国国防部部长阿什顿?卡特(Ashton Carter)前一天在新加坡作出的断言，即中国在南海对菲律宾和越南等其他声索主权的国家采取咄咄逼人的姿态，等于是在打造一座“自我孤立的长城”。

“Some countries are still looking at China with a cold war prejudice,” said Adm Sun. “They may build a wall in their mind and end up isolating themselves.”

孙建国表示：“我倒是担心那些有冷战思维、戴着有色眼镜看中国的人和国家，在自己心中筑起一道墙，最后孤立自己。”

But it was not just the US raising concerns about China’s assertive stance and its opposition to involvement of The Hague court, which is expected to rule within months on the Philippines’ case against Beijing’s “nine-dash line” claim to almost the whole South China Sea.

但是，并不只是美国对中国的强硬姿态、及其反对海牙仲裁庭的管辖表示关切。预计这个仲裁庭将在几个月内就菲律宾提起的反对北京方面几乎覆盖整个南中国海的“九段线”主权声索的仲裁案做出裁决。

A succession of defence ministers and senior officials from Vietnam, Japan and other Asian nations as well as outside powers such as the UK and France repeated Mr Carter’s call for China and other nations to respect the outcome of the arbitration process and act in accordance with international law.

从越南、日本和其它亚洲国家，到英国和法国等域外大国，一个又一个国防部长和高级官员纷纷重复卡特的呼吁，要求中国和其他国家尊重仲裁过程的结果，依照国际法行事。

“This is a matter of the utmost importance,” said Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s defence minister. “If the law of the sea is not respected today in the China seas, it will be threatened tomorrow in the Arctic, the Mediterranean or elsewhere.”

“这是一个极其重要的问题，”法国国防部长让-伊夫?勒德里安(Jean-Yves Le Drian)表示。“如果海洋法今天在中国周边海域得不到尊重，那么明天它将在北极地区、地中海或其他地方受到威胁。”

Michael Fallon, the UK defence secretary, said it would be a “mistake” for China to defy the tribunal.

英国国防大臣迈克尔?法伦(Michael Fallon)表示，中国违抗仲裁庭的裁决将是一个“错误”。

“We need to keep working to show China that its position is relatively isolated,” he said. “And one day, as China rises as a world power and develops ambitions for its blue-water navy, the time will come when China needs to rely on the provisions of these international conventions.”

“我们需要继续努力向中国表明，它的立场是相对孤立的，”他表示。“随着中国崛起为一个世界强国，并发展其蓝水海军的雄心，有一天中国将需要依靠这些国际公约的规定。”