中国同意送回中国海军在南中国海捕获的一具美国海军无人水下潜航器，此前，华盛顿就这一事件提出了正式抗议。
China has agreed to return a US navy submarine drone seized by the Chinese navy in the South China Sea following a formal protest from Washington.
“我们已就中国非法捕获在南中国海国际海域作业的一具美国无人水下潜航器提出抗议，”五角大楼(Pentagon)发言人彼得.库克(Peter Cook)说，“通过与中国当局直接接触，我们得到保证，中方将把该无人水下潜航器(UUV)交还美方。”
“We have registered our objection to China’s unlawful seizure of a US unmanned underwater vehicle operating in international waters in the South China Sea,” said Peter Cook, Pentagon spokesman. “Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV (drone) to the US.”
中国海军此次扣押美国无人水下潜航器，标志着两国本已不断升温的紧张局势急剧升级。
The seizure of the drone by the Chinese navy marked a sharp escalation in already rising tensions between the two countries.
美国国防部一名官员称，该潜航器被中国捕获时，正由美国海军“鲍迪奇号”(Bowditch)海洋测量船操控。
A US defence official said the device was grabbed as it was being operated by the USNS Bowditch, a survey vessel.
事件发生后，奥巴马政府提出了正式交涉。这是中美两国近期在南中国海爆发的最具戏剧性的摩擦，围绕南中国海相关岛屿和资源的争端已变成一条地缘政治断层线，使两国海军之间不断出现摩擦。
The Obama administration issued a formal démarche after the incident, the most dramatic recent flashpoint between the US and China in the South China Sea, where disputes over islands and resources have become a geopolitical faultline and prompted persistent friction between the two countries’ navies.
上周六，美国当选总统唐纳德.特朗普(Donald Trump)对中国扣留美国无人潜航器进行了批评。他在Twitter上写道：“中国在国际海域偷走美国海军研究无人潜航器——史无前例地从水里捞起，就这么把它带到了中国。”
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday criticised the seizure of the drone. “China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters — rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented [sic] act,” he wrote on Twitter.
五角大楼发表声明后，特朗普上周六晚在Twitter上再度发话：“我们应该告诉中国，我们不想要回他们偷走的无人潜航器。让他们留着吧！”
After the Pentagon’s announcement, Mr Trump on Saturday evening weighed in again on the situation on Twitter: “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back — let them keep it!”
中国国防部上周六夜间表示，中国海军一艘救捞船在南海有关海域发现一具不明装置，为预防发生航行安全问题，对该装置进行了识别查证。
China’s defence ministry said on Saturday night that one of its navy vessels had picked up the drone “to prevent it endangering the ship’s navigation and crew”.
中国国防部表示，将“通过适当方式”将该无人潜航器移交美方。但中方批评了美方对此事件的反应，称这样做“不利于”问题的顺利解决。
It said that it would hand it back to the US “in an appropriate manner” but it criticised the US response to the incident, which it said was “not conducive” to resolving the dispute smoothly.
中国国防部还重申，反对美国在中方所称的“中国海域”进行军事侦察活动。
The defence ministry also reiterated its opposition to US military reconnaissance activities in what it called “China’s waters”.
中国国防部表示，中美正在通过双方的军事渠道妥善处理这一事件。
It said simply that “China and the US are handling this incident properly through military channels on both sides”.
此事件发生前，特朗普似乎一直在挑战北京：他与台湾总统通过电话，还暗示如果中国不在南中国海等问题上做出让步，他将考虑放弃美国对台湾的现行政策。
The seizure came days after Mr Trump appeared to challenge Beijing by speaking on the phone with the president of Taiwan and suggesting that he would consider abandoning US policy over the island if China did not make concessions to the US over other issues, including the South China Sea.
华盛顿国家利益中心(Center for the National Interest)防务研究负责人Harry Kazianis表示：“此举是第一枪，是中国反击特朗普对台政策的第一步。”
“This is the opening shot, the first part of the Chinese response to push back against Trump over Taiwan,” said Harry Kazianis, director of defence studies at the Center for the National Interest in Washington.
“这很可能是顶层的一个精心安排的决定。”
“It is likely that this was a very well choreographed decision from the top.”
根据“一个中国”政策，美国承认北京为中国的合法政府，并割断与台湾的正式外交关系。但美国继续向台湾出售武器，以帮助它抵御中国大陆的潜在入侵。
Under the “One China” policy, the US recognised Beijing as the legitimate government of China and cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. However, the US continues to sell arms to Taiwan to help it defend itself from a potential Chinese invasion.
在上周末的一次采访中，特朗普说，如果中国人不愿意与华盛顿就贸易等问题进行谈判，他不明白为什么美国还要受“一个中国”政策的约束。
In an interview last weekend, Mr Trump said that he did not see why the US should be bound by the “One China” policy if the Chinese were not willing to enter into a bargain with Washington over issues such as trade.
在上周五的一个记者会上，在被问及威胁推翻美国对台政策的智慧时，奥巴马表示“我认为他能想到这个问题是不错的”，但当选总统应确保自己已被告知潜在冲击波，这样才能“系统化地、慎重地、有意地”采纳任何新方法。一个中国政策在帮助维持和平的同时，多年来也让台湾成为“一个相当成功的经济体”。
Asked at a press conference on Friday about the wisdom of threatening to overturn US policy on Taiwan, Mr Obama said that “I think it’s fine for him to take a look at it” but that the president-elect should ensure he was briefed on the potential fallout so that any new approach was adopted “in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way”. The policy had helped keep the peace while allowing Taiwan to become “a pretty successful economy”.
奥巴马说：“一个中国的想法是北京方面国家观念的核心。因此如果你要推翻这种认识，你必须考虑清楚后果，因为中国人不会用处理其他某些问题的方式来对待这一问题。”
“The idea of One China is at the heart of their [Beijing’s] conception as a nation,” he said. “And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences will be because the Chinese will not treat that the way they’ll treat some other issues.”
美国官员表示，“鲍迪奇号”一直在菲律宾海岸50海里以外的国际水域航行，而且当时正进行“正常”调查活动。
US officials said that the Bowditch had been operating in international waters 50 nautical miles off the coast of the Philippines and was doing “normal” survey operations.
该无人机是一架“海洋滑翔机”，用于收集海洋数据，当时已返回海面，等待被“鲍迪奇号”收回。就在此时，中国一艘军舰放下一条小船，捡走了滑翔机。美军向中方发送无线电请求返还无人机，但中方未予理会。
The drone, an “ocean glider” that is used to gather oceanographic data, had returned to the surface and was waiting to be retrieved by the Bowditch. At that time, a Chinese naval vessel launched a small boat that picked up the glider. A radio request to the Chinese to return the drone was ignored.