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An international tribunal ruled in 2016 that some of China’s territorial claims had "no legal basis,"
2016年，國際法庭裁定，中國提出的部分領土要求是“沒有法律依據”的，
but there’s only so much pressure Washington can apply, as it seeks Beijing’s help in countering the threat of a nuclear-capable North Korea.
但華盛頓也只能對北京方面施施壓，畢竟，要應對來自擁有核武的朝鮮的威脅，華盛頓還需要北京的支持。
Unable to deter China’s illicit expansion, the Navy is intent on proving it can still travel, communicate and rehearse for war wherever law allows.
無力阻止中國進行非法擴張，美國海軍便決意證明，他們仍舊能夠在法律允許的任何地方出入、溝通甚至軍演。
So in late February, the Vinson, a 1,092-ft. nuclear-powered warship sailing with a strike group including a guided-missile cruiser, two destroyers and eight aircraft squadrons,
因此，2月下旬，全長330米，攜一艘導彈巡洋艦，兩艘驅逐艦和八架飛機中隊的核動力航母編隊文森號
floated peacefully past the Paracel Islands, claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan.
和平地經過了中越臺三方均聲稱對其擁有主權的西沙群島。
"We know where international law says we can operate, and I know where international law says we can’t,"
"我們清楚國際法準許我們出入何地，禁止我們出入何地，"
says Rear Admiral John Fuller, the group’s commander.
編隊指揮約翰·富勒少將說。
"And we’re gonna do what international law says we can do."
“我們也將嚴格按照國際法行事。”
Onboard the ship, sailors practiced yoga, sang karaoke and prayed in a multifaith chapel.
在船上，水手們會練習瑜伽，唱卡拉OK，在多信仰小教堂祈禱。
Machinists crafted rare airplane parts, while a dentist readied to remove enlistees’ wisdom teeth.
機械師們負責制作罕見的飛機部件，牙醫則準備著幫士兵們拔掉智齒。
Lieutenant Abigail Khushf, a 26-year-old helicopter pilot from Houston, says she takes to the air three to five times a week in her MH-60S Seahawk.
來自休斯頓，年方26歲的直升機飛行員阿比蓋爾·庫什夫中尉說，她每周都要駕著她的MH-60S“海鷹”直升機執行三到五次飛行任務。
She flies over the contested Spratly Islands or near the Malacca Strait, which links the Pacific and Indian oceans—wherever the flagship takes her.
她去過頗有爭議的南沙群島，也去過連接太平洋和印度洋的馬六甲海峽附近 - 航母走到哪兒，她就在哪兒執行任務。
It’s different when you’re above the islands and you get the bird’s-eye view, she says.
“飛到島嶼的上空看到的景象是不一樣的，”她說。
All the pieces of the picture start coming together.
“在上面，你看到的是整體，而不再是局部。”
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