也門(mén)撤僑彰顯中國(guó)海軍實(shí)力

Yemen Evacuation Shows Chinese Navy’s Growing Role

也門(mén)撤僑彰顯中國(guó)海軍實(shí)力

China evacuated nearly 600 of its citizens from conflict-torn Yemen this week in Chinese warships, in a demonstration of Beijing’s increasing ability to extract its people from dangerous places.

本周，中國(guó)用戰(zhàn)艦從沖突不斷的也門(mén)撤離了近600名公民，這顯示出北京從危險(xiǎn)地區(qū)撤員的能力日漸增強(qiáng)。

Only a few Chinese remain in the country, the Chinese ambassador to Yemen, Tian Qi, told Xinhua, the state news agency, on Monday night. He described the operation, which included harrowing road trips from the capital, Sana, to the port of Al Hudaydah, as “a significant practice of major power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.”

中國(guó)駐也門(mén)大使田琦周一晚上對(duì)官方通訊社新華社表示，只有少量中國(guó)人留守也門(mén)。他稱此次行動(dòng)是“中國(guó)特色大國(guó)外交的重要實(shí)踐”。撤離行動(dòng)中，需要通過(guò)公路，艱難地將人員從也門(mén)首都薩那運(yùn)送至荷臺(tái)達(dá)港。

Although the Yemen effort was on a much smaller scale than the evacuation of about 35,800 Chinese workers from Libya in 2011, it involved two Chinese Navy frigates, accompanied by a navy supply vessel, docking at ports in Yemen and carrying the Chinese evacuees away. In Libya, after the overthrow of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, China largely relied on rented cruise ships and cargo vessels, with one navy vessel overseeing the operation. The first group of 122 Chinese workers boarded a frigate in Aden, the major port city of Yemen, on Sunday afternoon, Mr. Tian told Xinhua. A second group of 449 Chinese boarded another frigate in Al Hudaydah, on Yemen’s west coast, on Monday, he said. Both ships headed across the Gulf of Aden for Djibouti, and from there, the workers were being flown to China.

盡管在規(guī)模上遠(yuǎn)小于2011年從利比亞撤離大約3.58萬(wàn)名中國(guó)公民的行動(dòng)，但也門(mén)的撤離行動(dòng)動(dòng)用了兩艘中國(guó)海軍護(hù)衛(wèi)艦，隨行的還有一艘海軍補(bǔ)給艦。它們?？吭谝查T(mén)港口，接走了中國(guó)的撤離人員。在利比亞，穆阿邁爾·卡扎菲(Muammar el-Qaddafi)被推翻后，中國(guó)主要依靠租來(lái)的游輪和貨輪，只有一艘海軍艦艇監(jiān)督撤離行動(dòng)。田琦對(duì)新華社表示，周日下午，首批122名中國(guó)工人在也門(mén)主要港口城市亞丁港登上了一艘護(hù)衛(wèi)艦。他說(shuō)，第二批449名中國(guó)公民周一在也門(mén)西海岸的荷臺(tái)達(dá)港登上了另一艘護(hù)衛(wèi)艦。兩艘船都將穿越亞丁灣，駛向吉布提。這些人員將從那里搭乘航班返回中國(guó)。

The evacuation operation would play well in China, said Lyle Goldstein, associate professor at the United States Naval War College in Newport, R.I. “The audience is likely Chinese domestic politics,” Mr. Goldstein said. “It has become very common for Chinese to demand that Chinese nationals be protected abroad more forcefully by the government. Thus, in the Yemen case, two frigates can easily be dispatched to ‘show the flag,’ but without incurring major risks or somehow pushing the operational envelope.”Champions of the fast-expanding Chinese Navy would also be pleased, Mr. Goldstein said. “The crisis may be somewhat useful to the growing chorus of Chinese ‘navalists,’ who will argue that having a Chinese Navy that operates routinely on all the world’s oceans is critical to protecting the interests of this maritime trade juggernaut,” he said.

位于羅德島州紐波特的美國(guó)海軍戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)學(xué)院(United States Naval War College)副教授萊爾·戈?duì)柎奶?Lyle Goldstein)表示，撤離行動(dòng)會(huì)在中國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)收獲良好反響。“關(guān)注這次行動(dòng)的人可能在中國(guó)政界里，”戈?duì)柎奶拐f(shuō)。“中國(guó)人要求政府在海外更有力地保護(hù)中國(guó)公民，這種訴求已經(jīng)變得非常普遍。因此在也門(mén)的這次行動(dòng)中，能輕松地派出兩艘護(hù)衛(wèi)艦去‘顯示實(shí)力’，卻沒(méi)有引來(lái)多大的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，也沒(méi)有在某種程度上挑戰(zhàn)軍事行動(dòng)的極限。”中國(guó)海軍正在迅速擴(kuò)張，戈?duì)柎奶贡硎?，其支持者也?huì)為此次行動(dòng)感到高興。“此次危機(jī)對(duì)于中國(guó)崇尚海軍的人群是有利的，他們?cè)絹?lái)越大聲地呼吁，中國(guó)擁有一支在全世界各個(gè)海洋開(kāi)展常規(guī)行動(dòng)的海軍，對(duì)保護(hù)這個(gè)海上貿(mào)易大國(guó)的利益至關(guān)重要，”他說(shuō)。

Chinese online comments expressed support for the operation. One commenter on Sina Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform, wrote: “The strength of the motherland is not about the visa-free agreements with other countries, but that it could bring you home from danger.”

中國(guó)網(wǎng)友表達(dá)了對(duì)該行動(dòng)的支持。中國(guó)微博平臺(tái)新浪微博的一名用戶寫(xiě)道：“祖國(guó)實(shí)力的強(qiáng)大不在于免簽多少國(guó)家，而在于危險(xiǎn)的時(shí)候能把你帶回家。”

Another wrote: “You can’t even imagine things like this if the country is not strong enough.”

另一則評(píng)論寫(xiě)道，“如果國(guó)家實(shí)力不雄厚，這種事情想都不敢想。”

The two frigates were diverted from duties off Somalia, where China has been participating in international antipiracy operations since 2008. Given the Chinese Navy’s familiarity with the waters around the Horn of Africa and nearby Yemen, the evacuation was likely to have been a relatively easy task, Mr. Goldstein said.

這兩艘驅(qū)逐艦是從索馬里的任務(wù)中調(diào)遣來(lái)的。中國(guó)自2008年以來(lái)，一直在那里參與打擊海盜的國(guó)際行動(dòng)。戈?duì)柎奶拐f(shuō)，鑒于中國(guó)海軍對(duì)非洲之角和附近的也門(mén)水域比較熟悉，這次撤離可能是一項(xiàng)比較容易的任務(wù)。

The Chinese workers trapped in Yemen as the government collapsed said conditions had deteriorated rapidly. Many of the Chinese were involved in oil exploration, others in construction and fishing. Yemen provides oil to China but is not a major supplier.

也門(mén)政府淪陷時(shí)被困該國(guó)的中國(guó)工人稱，局勢(shì)的惡化非常迅速。許多中國(guó)人在那里從事石油開(kāi)采的工作，還有一些人從事建筑業(yè)和漁業(yè)。也門(mén)為中國(guó)輸送石油，但不是主要的供應(yīng)國(guó)。

A Chinese medical worker, Yang Shiyong, who was in Yemen when a Shiite Houthi militia backed by Iran toppled the government, said he was startled by the strength of the militia’s firepower against airstrikes led by Saudi Arabia. The Houthis deployed surface-to-air weapons near the house in Sana where his medical team stayed, he said.

伊朗支持的什葉派胡塞民兵組織推翻也門(mén)政府時(shí)，中國(guó)醫(yī)務(wù)工作者楊士勇就在也門(mén)國(guó)內(nèi)。他說(shuō)，沙特阿拉伯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的空襲發(fā)動(dòng)時(shí)，民兵組織還擊的炮火讓他嚇了一跳。他說(shuō)，胡塞武裝在他的醫(yī)療團(tuán)隊(duì)位于薩那的房子附近，部署了地對(duì)空武器。

“It was the first time since I came to Yemen that I saw such intensive artillery fire,” Mr. Yang told Xinhua. “The antiaircraft fire out there looked like some flaming snakes, that went on for hours.”

“來(lái)到也門(mén)后我還是第一次看見(jiàn)這么猛烈的炮火，”楊士勇對(duì)新華社說(shuō)。“外面的防空炮火像一條條火蛇，持續(xù)了幾個(gè)小時(shí)。”