向美国归还无人潜航器

China returns seized submarine drone to US

China’s armed forces have returned to the US Navy an underwater drone that they had seized on Friday in the South China Sea, bringing a swift denouement to a crisis that raised tensions between Washington and Beijing.

军方已向美海军归还了上周五在南海(South China Sea)被海军扣留的一艘水下无人潜航器，为一场引起华盛顿方面和北京方面关系紧张的危机划上了句号。

The handover of the small submarine to the US was “completed smoothly” after “friendly consultations” between both sides,  China’s defence ministry said in a statement on its website.

国防部在其网站上的一份声明中称，双方经“友好协商”，顺利完成了美无人潜航器的移交工作。

The Pentagon said the drone had been handed back to the US Navy by a Chinese ship near the location where it had been seized, which it described as 50 nautical miles north-west of Subic Bay in the Philippines.

美国五角大楼(Pentagon)表示，一艘舰船在潜航器被扣押的地方附近把该潜航器归还给了美国海军。五角大楼称，扣留地点位于菲律宾苏比克湾西南50海里的地方。

According to the US statement, the seizure of the craft was “inconsistent with both international law and the standards of professionalism for conduct between navies at sea”. The Pentagon said it was still investigating the incident.

美方声明称，扣住这艘潜航器“不符合国际法，也不符合海军海上行动的专业标准”。五角大楼表示，其仍在调查这起事故。

China so far has not said who authorised the seizure of the drone, which the US says was carrying out oceanographic survey work when it was taken by a Dalang III-class salvage ship.  

迄今尚未表示，是谁授权扣住该潜航器的。美国表示，该潜航器在执行海洋水文观测工作时，被中方一艘大浪三级(Dalang III-class)救难船取走。

However, Chinese maritime expert Zhu Feng, director of the South China Sea Institute at Nanjing University, said the seizure was “purely individual behaviour” of the Chinese vessel in an effort to identify the US craft.

然而，海事专家、南海研究协同创新中心执行主任朱峰表示，扣住该潜航器是舰船为了识别该美国航海器而发起的“纯粹个别行为”。

US president-elect Donald Trump also waded into the row. On Sunday, after Beijing and Washington announced the drone would be returned, Trump tweeted: “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back. — let them keep it!”

美国当选总统唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)也加入了这场争吵。上周日，当北京方面和华盛顿方面公布该潜航器将被归还的消息时，特朗普在推特上发言称：“我们应该告诉，他们偷走的无人潜航器我们不想要了——就让他们留着吧！”

China’s foreign ministry on Monday rejected Mr Trump’s accusations Beijing had stolen the craft as “not accurate”.

周一，否认了特朗普的指控，称北京方面偷走潜航器的说法是“不准确的”。

【王府英语】致力于中小学英语教育。联系电话：0871-63194940（昆明）

【王府英语】公众微信帐号：王府英语，公众微信号：wf-english，个人微信号：wf_english

欢迎关注【王府英语】的微信公众号！欢迎转发【王府英语】的微信图文！

长按下图二维码，选择“识别图中二维码”，即可关注【王府英语】。