WASHINGTON, April 17 — President Bush's senior national security aides have recommended that he defer the sale to Taiwan of advanced destroyers equipped with a highly sophisticated ship-borne radar system but have advised him to provide a range of less advanced weapons to counter China's growing arsenal.
布希總統的資深國安助理建議他暫時延緩銷售給台灣裝備有極其精密雷達系統的先
進戰艦。不過仍然建議他提供比較不那麼先進的武器以反制中國日益增長的軍力。

The recommendation, by a team of senior deputies in the State and Defense Departments and the White House, was discussed this afternoon at a meeting of the National Security Council.
Officials declined to discuss that session, other than to say that Mr. Bush is expected to make a final decision next week. He and his senior advisers — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice — could chose a different path, officials warn.
這項由國務院﹐國防部及白宮資深成員所提出的建議﹐ 今天下午國安委員會開會
時有提出來討論。除了說預期布希先生在下星期會做出最後決定之外﹐ 官員拒絕加
以評論。官員亦警告說﹐他和他的資深顧問﹐ 如國防部長Danold H. Rumsfeld ,國務卿Collin L. Powell,和國家安全顧問Condoleezza Rice, 也可能會作完全不同的選擇。

What Mr. Bush sells to Taiwan, and how he words his decision about whether Taiwan may ultimately obtain the advanced radar system, known as Aegis, or equipment that could perform a similar function, could set the tone of his dealings with China for the next several years.
For Mr. Bush the decision is particularly delicate because pro-Taiwan conservatives in his own party have urged that he agree to Taiwan's entire shopping list, especially after the 11-day detention of the crew of the American spy plane that collided with a Chinese fighter jet on April 1.
布希先生要賣什麼給台灣﹐以及他的措辭(譬如說台灣要怎樣才能得到所謂的神盾艦﹐或其它性能類似的裝備)﹐很可能決定今後數年他與中國打交道的基調。從布希先生的角度來看﹐ 這項決定特別微妙﹐ 因為他自己黨內親台保守人士早就在敦促他對台灣的整個採購單點頭﹐ 尤其在美國間諜飛機與中國噴射戰機於4月1日對撞﹐ 機員遭拘留了11天後﹐ 更是如此。

But much can be done to strengthen Taiwan's defenses without selling the high-profile Aegis, and many of Taiwan's deficiencies cannot be resolved through the sale of weapons alone.
Administration officials insist that the standoff with China over the April 1 collision will have no influence on their final decision on what to sell Taiwan. But taken together, the collision and the arms sales are likely to define Mr. Bush's relations with Chinese leaders, and it is far from clear how China will view his decision.
但是要加強台灣防禦的方式很多﹐ 不一定非樹大招風的神盾不可﹐ 台灣(防禦上)的缺陷有很多不能單純的籍武器銷售來解決。行政官員堅持說﹐4月1日因飛機對撞而與中國起的衝突﹐ 對售台武器的最終決定沒有影響。然﹐把飛機對撞與武器銷售放在一起﹐整體看來可能會決定了布希先生與中國領袖的關係﹐ 而中國對他的決定會作何看法﹐ 亦未可知。

Beijing has said that any sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan would severely damage relations with the United States, though Washington has made such sales in the past. According to officials familiar with the report, Mr. Bush's top aides concluded that Taiwan did not yet have the technical skill to handle the Aegis system,
which could protect Taiwan against a missile attack.
北京早已說過﹐ 售台先進武器會嚴重的損害與美國的關係﹐然而華盛頓在過去也賣
過。熟悉此報告的官員說﹐布希先生最高級的助理都斷定,縱然神盾系統能保護台灣
免受飛彈攻擊﹐ 台灣仍無操縱神盾的科技。

Instead, they recommended selling less sophisticated Kidd-class destroyers. Nor would they sell Taiwan the Army's advanced antimissile system, known as PAC-3, because it has yet to be deployed by American troops. There is continuing debate over whether to sell Taiwan diesel- powered submarines armed with conventional torpedoes. Top United States Navy officials urged in March that Taiwan should get more sophisticated weapons.
因此他們建議賣比較不那麼高級的 Kidd級艦來代替。他們也不願賣陸軍先進的反導彈系統給台灣(所謂PAC -3型)﹐因為連美國部隊自己都還未部署。 他們還在討論是否該賣給台灣配備有傳統式魚雷﹐ 靠柴油發動的潛水艇。 美國高階海軍官員在3月時敦促說台灣應獲得更精密的武器。

But today, "there was no big fight over any of this," one senior Administration official said. "The issue now is how we present it." The official noted that China's reaction may depend more on the signals Mr. Bush sends about future sales.
但是資深行政官員今天說,"沒有人在為這個問題大動干戈﹐我們現在面對的是該以
什麼方式表達。" 官員指出中國的反應很可能依布希先生對未來銷售所送出的信號而定。

If he decides to defer the decision on the Aegis, as now seems highly likely, Mr. Bush would be able to hold open the possibility of selling the system to Taiwan later if China continues to improve its ability to threaten the island, which it regards as a renegade province. The United States has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan and has always left ambiguous the extent to which it would aid Taiwan if it were attacked by China. The United States promised in 1982 that it would not increase the quality and quantity of arms sold to Taiwan, but that has always been interpreted
by Washington to mean it could help the island maintain a defensive posture proportional to the perceived threat.
由現狀來看﹐延緩神盾決定十分可能。如果他作此決定﹐將來若中國繼續加強對台
灣(中國視之為叛省)的威脅﹐布希先生才能預留後步﹐ 想辦法在將來出售此一系統給台灣。
美國與台灣沒有外交關係﹐ 一旦台灣遭受中國攻擊﹐ 美國在它如何援助台灣方面﹐始終沒有明文解釋。 美國在1982年答應說在售台武器上﹐不會在質量上有所
增加﹐ 然而﹐ 華盛頓對此一向的解釋是﹐它可以幫台灣維持防禦均勢以對抗威脅。

"There would be some conditionality on the sale of Aegis," said another senior official involved in the decision. "Before you buy your Ferrari, you better build the garage first."
During the presidential campaign last year, Mr. Bush talked occasionally about taking the ambiguity out of American military commitments to Taiwan, to support its democratic practices and send a message to Beijing. Speaking of the Clinton administration during a campaign stop at a Boeing plant last May, Mr. Bush said, "They have been inconsistent on Taiwan. I will be clear."
一位涉及決策的資深官員說﹐”神盾的銷售具有某些先決條件﹐ 你在要買法拉利之
前﹐ 最好先把車庫建好。“
去年在總統競選期間﹐布希先生偶爾會談到﹐ 美國對台灣的軍事承諾﹐ 不應再含
糊不言﹐ 以表示對民主的支持﹐ 同時也讓北京明白。去年5月在競選中﹐途經波音工廠﹐布希先生在提及柯林頓行政當局時說﹐“他們對台灣﹐作法始終不一致。 我則會採取清楚明確的途徑。”

But as president he has discovered that clarity has its limits.
Mr. Bush is facing the tug of conflicting priorities: he wants to show his support for Taiwan, without undercutting a relationship with China that seems to be off to a rocky start.
Mr. Bush appears to be weaving toward a middle ground — a sale he can defend to his own party without risking a new rupture with China.
但是成為總統後他也發現清楚明確是有限度的。.
布希先生面臨著相互矛盾的優先次序﹕他一方面想要顯示他對台灣的支持﹐ 一方面
又不願減損與中國的關係﹐ 而這個關係在一起頭就不大妙。
布希先生現在似乎在朝著中間點走 - 在售台武器上讓他可以對自己的黨有所交代﹐同時又不至于冒險與中國另起衝突。

Taiwan has long sought the Aegis system because it would give it a clear advantage in the South China Sea. Mounted aboard an advanced destroyer, the Aegis is designed to track more than 200 targets, including sea-skimming missiles, and aerial attacks. Because China does not have the ability to mount an invasion, suppressing its considerable missile threat is vital. But Bush administration officials, like their predecessors, fear that before
the system is up and running — which ould take eight years and more — China would have time to counter it with new weapons.
Mr. Bush's decision is bound to be examined closely in Congress, where several conservatives called recently for more arms sales to Taiwan.
台灣對神盾系統已經想要了很久﹐ 因為它能讓台灣在南中國海上取得明顯優勢。
一旦配備在先進艦艇上﹐ 神盾可以跟蹤 200多個目標﹐ 包括掠海飛彈及來自空中
的攻擊。 因為中國目前還無法大舉入侵﹐ 所以壓制它龐大的飛彈威脅﹐ 變得極為重要。
由於神盾系統至少要8年以上的時間才有辦法裝備好進行運作。 比起他們的前一任﹐布希的行政官員也不例外﹐擔心在系統還沒準備好前﹐中國會有好一段時間發展新武器來反制。
布希先生的決定﹐ 鐵定會被國會細考﹐ 而已有好幾個保守黨人在近日呼籲賣給台
灣更多的武器。

Senator Craig Thomas , the Wyoming Republican who heads the Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific affairs, said today that he supported deferring any immediate sale of the Aegis system to Taiwan, because it would be unnecessarily provocative. "We're committed to helping Taiwan if they are attacked," he said, "but we don't need to be waving red flags in people's
faces." That is why the White House is leaning toward less sophisticated destroyers and diesel submarines to add to Taiwan's tiny fleet.
懷俄明州共和黨參議員Craig Thomas是外交關係東亞及太平洋事務小組委員會的
主席。今天說他支持延緩﹐不要立即賣神盾系統給台灣﹐ 因為現在就賣﹐ 有如不
必要的挑舋。 ”如果台灣受到攻擊﹐我們承諾了會去支援﹐可是我們也不必當著人
家的面﹐ 大揮紅旗啊。“
這就是為什么白宮傾向於賣給台灣比較不那麼精密的戰艦及柴油潛水艇﹐ 以加強台
灣非常小號的艦隊。