Japan-China tensions after warplanes come close to dogfight
中国与日本几乎爆发空战
广州日本语翻译公司：中方称，6月17日的冲突极易引发危险局面，当时日本战机使用火控雷达照射中国战机。日方否认了中方的说法。
A near dogfight between Japan and China — according to the latter, involving the rare use of fire-control radar to target its warplanes — has further escalated tensions between the two powers amid fears that clashes are growing more provocative.
日本和中国之间几乎爆发一场空战，使这两个大国之间的紧张关系进一步升级。目前各方担心中日之间的冲突正变得越来越具有挑衅性。中方称，日方在此次对峙期间罕见地开启火控雷达照射中国战机。广州日本语翻译公司。
China and Japan have spent much of the past two years embroiled in an increasingly heated dispute over territorial claims in the East China Sea, with both sides launching manoeuvres in support of this.
过去两年的大部分期间，中国和日本深陷一场围绕东中国海领土声索的日益激烈的争端，双方都做出各种动作以支持自己的主张。
But the latest clash on June 17 threatened to turn dangerous, according to a statement by China’s ministry of defence on Monday, when Japanese warplanes used fire-control radar to “light up” Chinese counterparts and released infrared flares during evasive manoeuvres. Japan’s deputy chief of cabinet on Tuesday denied China’s claims.
但是，根据中国国防部周一发布的一份声明，6月17日发生的最新冲突极易引发危险局面，当时日本战机使用火控雷达照射中国战机，然后在投放红外干扰弹后逃逸。日本内阁官房副长官周二否认了中国方面的说法。广州日本语翻译公司。
Both sides agree a pair of Chinese SU-30 fighter-bombers encountered two Japanese F-15 fighters somewhere over the East China Sea, where China and Japan dispute ownership of a group of islands known in Japan as the Senkaku and China as the Diaoyu. The nations also claim overlapping Air Defence Identification Zones, which require foreign aircraft to identify themselves.
双方同意的事件经过是，两架中国的苏-30战斗轰炸机（Su-30，北约代号：侧卫C）在东中国海上空某处与两架日本F-15战斗机相遇；中国和日本围绕东中国海的一个岛群——日本称其为尖阁诸岛(Senkaku)，中国称其为钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿——存在主权纠纷。这两个国家在此还有部分重叠的防空识别区，要求进入的外国飞机报明身份。
Japanese officials say China has increased its military activity in the sea and air, obliging Japan to almost double its scrambling of aircraft to engage Chinese jets over the past three months.
日本官员表示，中国增加了海上和空中的军事活动，迫使日方紧急出动战机拦截中国飞机的次数在过去三个月期间几乎增加一倍。
Yanmei Xie of NGO International Crisis Group in Beijing said the Chinese ministry of defence’s comments on Monday had probably been in response to a story last week in the Japanese press, which quoted an unnamed retired officer in Japan’s air force as saying Chinese aircraft had made threatening manoeuvres during the incident. The Japanese government denied the press reports.
非政府组织——国际危机组织(International Crisis Group)驻北京的谢艳梅表示，中国国防部周一发表的言论很可能是针对日本媒体上周报道的回应；日本媒体援引日本航空自卫队一位匿名退役军官的话称，中国飞机在这起事件期间做出威胁性的战术动作。日本政府否认了这些媒体报道。广州日本语翻译公司。
“The Japanese government put this back in a box,” said Ms Xie, “but the Chinese side suspects that Japan uses these unnamed officials to leak information to smear China, while not making an official accusation. So that may explain why China still felt they had to respond.
“日本政府把这件事放回盒子里，”谢艳梅表示，“但中国方面怀疑日本利用这些匿名官员泄露信息抹黑中国，而不是做出官方指控。所以这也许可以解释中国为什么仍然觉得自己不得不作出回应。
“This kind of thing can degenerate into a ‘he said, she said’ situation, and it is very hard to verify what happened.”
“这种事情很容易变成各执一词的局面，很难核实究竟发生了什么。”
Ian Storey, of the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore, said a radar lock by either side would be a “very dangerous move” because the targeted plane would have seconds to decide whether it was under attack and how to respond. That raises the possibility of accidental fire, something military analysts see as a possible result of the growing spats.
新加坡东南亚研究所(ISEAS)高级研究员伊恩•斯托里(Ian Storey)表示，任何一方进行雷达锁定都是一个“非常危险的举动”，因为目标飞机将只有几秒钟时间来判断自己是否受到攻击，以及如何应对。这就引发擦枪走火的可能性；军事分析家认为，擦枪走火正是中日之间不断激化的争吵的一个可能结果。广州日本语翻译公司。
Japanese officials on Tuesday did not deny the claims that its aircraft had fired infrared decoy flares during the incident, a move that would be consistent with believing they were under attack.
周二，日本官员没有否认其飞机曾在事件中投放红外干扰弹的说法，此举与日方飞行员相信自己受到攻击的逻辑相符。
The last time fire-control radar was allegedly engaged in the East China Sea was in January 2013, when Japan’s defence ministry said a Chinese frigate had locked a weapons radar on to a Japanese destroyer, calling the incident “a unilateral, provocative act and extremely regrettable”. China denied the claim following an internal investigation.
上一次在东中国海据称涉及火控雷达的事件是在2013年1月，当时日本防卫省表示，一艘中国护卫舰用武器雷达锁定了一艘日本驱逐舰，称这一事件是“单方面的挑衅行为，极其令人遗憾”。中国方面在进行内部调查后否认了这种说法。广州日本语翻译公司。
Maritime tensions in the western Pacific are edging higher a week ahead of an international ruling on a dispute between China and the Philippines over sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.
西太平洋的海上紧张局势正在渐渐加剧，一周后，针对中国和菲律宾之间围绕南中国海主权主张的国际裁决将会出炉。
An arbitration court in The Hague is expected by analysts to rule in favour of the Philippines and invalidate many if not all of Chinese claims in the South China Sea. China has already rejected the arbitration proceedings.
分析人士预期，海牙仲裁庭将作出有利于菲律宾的裁决，使中国在南中国海的许多主张（如果不是全部主张的话）无效。中国拒绝接受仲裁。
