Part of the problem is the way that China’s armed forces work. The Communist Party is present throughout the military hierarchy. Its political commissars often wield as much power ascommanders who are genuine soldiers. Especially at higher levels, Chinese officers can move only at the speed of a committee. But that is no excuse for China’s habit of unplugging the phone. Swift communication may not end acrisis, but it can certainly reduce the danger of tensions flaring up over a misunderstanding.
部分問題在于軍隊的工作方式。政治存在于軍隊的各個階層。其政治委員通常和真正的士兵指揮官一樣擁有同樣多的權力。特別是在高層，官員只能以委員會的速度行動。但這并不能成為拔掉電話習慣的借口。迅速的溝通可能不會結束激烈的爭吵，但它肯定能減少因誤解而引發緊張局勢的危險
Going ballistic
勃然大怒
Mercifully, when Barack Obama was president, the two countries managed to establish some rules for managing close encounters between their ships and planes. That has led to fewer near collisions in the air and at sea. But that still falls short. China’s relentless beefing up of its military forces has created an urgent need for wider-ranging agreements. Pentagon officials say China is arming its air force with nuclear weapons. That would give China a complete “triad” of nuclear weaponry, launchable from the air, land and sea. Yet the two armed forces have not held nuclear talks in over ten years. Even the Soviet Union agreed to give warnings about ballistic-missile tests. The Chinese refuse to consider such a confidence-building measure,despite the growing importance of missiles to both countries.
幸運的是，當巴拉克•奧巴馬擔任美國總統時，兩國設法制定了一些規則，管理兩國船只和飛機之間的近距離接觸。這減少了空中和海上的近距離碰撞。但這仍然不夠。不斷加強軍力，迫切需要達成更廣泛的協議。美國政府官員說，正在用核武器武裝其空軍。這將形成一個完整的“三位一體”的核武器，可以從空中、陸地和海上發射。然而，兩軍已經10多年沒有舉行過核談判。
On a visit to Washington, DC, in November China’s defence minister, Wei Fenghe, said that communication must be strengthened. It is good that China recognises this. But all too often the country lets pique over unconnected business disrupt military contacts. In 2018 it cancelled multiple high-level talks, including an embryonic dialogue between senior military officers. Not since the cold war has it been so crucial for global peace for two defence establishments to talk.
去年11月，中國國防部長魏鳳和在訪問華盛頓時表示，必須加強溝通。認識到這一點是件好事。但是這個國家經常因為沒有聯系的商業活動而發怒，破壞軍事聯系。2018年，朝鮮取消了多次高層會談，包括高級軍官之間尚處于萌芽階段的對話。自冷戰以來，兩家防務機構的對話從未對全球和平如此重要。
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