2007年VOA标准英语-Japan Calls for Closer Strategic, Economic Ties

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
22 August 2007

Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has been accorded the rare honor of addressing India's parliament. VOA's Steve Herman in New Delhi reports the Japanese leader told Indian lawmakers Wednesday they need to consider a closer security alignment¹ between the two Asian democracies.

Shinzo Abe

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on India to join a Japan-inspired "arc of freedom and prosperity" across Asia and the Pacific.

"The strategic and global partnership² of Japan and India is pivotal for such pursuits to be successful," he said. "By Japan and India coming together in this way this broader Asia will evolve into an immense network spanning the entirety of the Pacific Ocean, incorporating the United States of America and Australia."

Speaking to a joint³ session of India's parliament, Mr. Abe said the four nations working together could protect maritime⁴ shipping⁵ lanes, vital to the world economy.

The idea, a clear example of Japan's more muscular diplomacy⁶, was greeted largely with silence.

Mr. Abe is also hoping to expand economic ties between the two Asian democracies, something pledged by both at a summit in Tokyo last December. But he noted⁷ more effort is needed to reach a free trade agreement.

"It is incumbent⁸ upon me to urge the Japanese negotiators to work to conclude promptly⁹ a comprehensive high quality economic partnership agreement between Japan and India which will set an example for the world," he said. "I likewise urge the Indian side to give their support to enable the early conclusion of this agreement."

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Japanese PM Shinzo Abe (l) and Indian PM Manmohan Singh (r) sign a bilateral agreement in New Delhi, 22 Aug 2007

In a statement released later in the day, India and Japan agreed to launch a fund for an ambitious project that would create a dedicated¹¹ rail freight corridor between New Delhi and Mumbai. The project, which would depend heavily on Japanese investment and aid, is expected to cost about $100 billion.

In his address, Mr. Abe did not mention the controversial civil nuclear agreement between India and the United States. He later told reporters Japan is watching very closely before deciding whether to back the deal, which could also pave the way for Japan to build nuclear power plants here.

Opposition¹² to the deal from leftist Indian lawmakers is threatening the coalition¹³ government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mr. Singh, at a news conference with his Japanese counterpart late Tuesday, expressed confidence the turmoil¹⁴ will not lead to the collapse¹⁵ of his government.

"It is certainly true that we have, I think, some turbulence¹⁶ in the political air in Delhi," he said. "But I am confident we shall be able to overcome it. As someone said, 'if winter comes, can spring be far behind?'"

Mr. Abe faces his own political troubles, suffering in the polls at home where he is seen as neglecting domestic social and economic issues at the expense of pushing his nationalistic vision for Japan.

The Japanese leader arrived in India after a visit to Indonesia. He will go to Malaysia on Thursday.

Mr. Abe's visit comes 50 years after that of then Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, the current leader's grandfather and the first Japanese leader to visit India.

Mr. Kishi's 1957 trip cleared the way for Tokyo to begin making yen¹⁷ loans to India at a time when Japan was still struggling economically in the wake of the devastation¹⁸ of World War II.  By 1986, Japan was India's largest aid donor¹⁹ and has been ever since.

1 alignment   

n.队列；结盟，联合

参考例句：

• The church should have no political alignment.教会不应与政治结盟。
• Britain formed a close alignment with Egypt in the last century.英国在上个世纪与埃及结成了紧密的联盟。

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

9 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

10 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

11 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

15 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

16 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

17 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

18 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。