出国留学首选一诺留学

　　听力文本

　　STATE DEPARTMENT— Speaking in Hawaii after a week-long trip to Asia, U.S. Secretaryof State John Kerry said resolving competing territorial claims in the South China Sea isabout respecting international law, not rival claimants trying to intimidate each other.

　　Secretary Kerry said disputed mineral and fishing rights in the South China Sea underlie morefundamental legal questions of sovereignty and rights of free passage.

　　"You know they're really about more than claims to islands and reefs and rocks and theeconomic interests that flow from them. They're about whether might makes right or whetherglobal rules and norms and rule of law and international law will prevail," said Kerry.

　　The South China Sea is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, where China's coast guardalready has clashed with vessels from both Vietnam and the Philippines. Indonesia, Brunei,Malaysia and Taiwan also have competing claims in the South China Sea, where Kerry says aconstructive US-China relationship will contribute to stability.

　　"President Obama has made it clear that the United States welcomes the rise of a peaceful,prosperous and stable China -- one that plays a responsible role in Asia and the world, andsupports rules and norms on economic and security issues,” said Kerry.

　　Kerry added that Washington wants to avoid "the trap of strategic rivalry" with China. ButChina over the weekend helped undercut U.S. efforts to freeze provocative actions in theSouth China Sea, further eroding Washington's so-called pivot of diplomatic and militaryresources, said American Enterprise Institute analyst Michael Auslin.

　　"Look at the way that the waterscape in Asia has changed. Look at China's increasing coercionbordering on aggression right now. You're not doing anything about that. And yet at everyturn, at every occasion you remind us about how important the pivot is to you. I just thinkpeople don't know what to make of it," said Auslin.

　　With the Philippines and Vietnam looking to Washington for help, American University professorHillary Mann Leverett said China is pushing U.S. allies to the point where Beijing believesWashington will show the weakness of its Asia policy by failing to come to their aid.

　　"It's a really focused, determined strategy based on assumptions that the United States isnot really going to put its military wherewithal into the South China Sea to fight China overissues that it doesn't really care about," said Leverett.

　　Such a perception, she said, hurts Washington at a time when Beijing and Moscow see agreater common cause.

　　"The concern about U.S. policy has been pushing Russia and China together now for a fewyears, particularly since the start of the Arab Awakening, over Libya, over Syria. We've beenseeing them coming together more and more, especially on hydrocarbon issues,” continuedLeverett.

　　Kerry said the Obama administration is working to raise trade and investment standards inAsia because national interests are advanced not just by troops or by diplomats, but byentrepreneurs and good corporate citizens as well.