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Japan’s coast guard plucked a stranded Chinese balloonist out of the sea near the disputed Senkaku Islands on New Year’s day after the man tried and failed to land on one of the islands.
日本海上保安廳元旦在有爭議的尖閣諸島（Senkaku Islands，中國稱這些島嶼為釣魚島及其附屬島嶼）附近海域救起了一名落水的中國熱氣球駕駛者。此人曾試圖降落到其中的一個島嶼，但沒有成功。
The man’s political affiliation and precise motive were unclear, but the coast guard said yesterday that he told his rescuers he had been trying to reach one of the Japanese-administered islands, which are known as the Diaoyu in China. He was identified as Xu Shuaijun, a 35-year-old cook from Hebei province.
不清楚這名男子的政治立場和具體動機，但海上保安廳昨日表示，該男子告訴救援人員，他曾試圖登上由日本管轄的這些島嶼中的一個。經查明身份，這名男子名叫許帥軍，現年35歲，是河北省的一名廚師。
Chinese activists have previously landed or attempted to land ships on the uninhabited islands, which are at the centre of a bitter territorial dispute.
中國活動人士以往曾登上或試圖把船靠上這些無人居住的島嶼。中國和日本如今圍繞著這些島嶼的主權歸屬正展開著一場對峙。
The confrontation has been fraught since late 2012, with Chinese patrol ships regularly entering waters near the islands and both sides scrambling fighter jets, though so far there has been no violence.
從2012年末開始，中日兩國就陷入對峙，中國巡邏船經常進入爭議島嶼附近海域，雙方也都曾緊急出動戰斗機擺開攔截陣勢，盡管迄今并未交火。
The balloon incident appeared, if anything, to mark a moment of co-operation between the adversaries in the dispute.
此次氣球事件如果說有任何意義的話，那就是標志著這場糾紛的各方展開了片刻合作。
Authorities in Taiwan, which also claims the islands, alerted the Japanese coast guard that a hot-air balloon they had been tracking by radar had gone missing over the East China Sea.
同樣聲稱擁有這些島嶼主權的臺灣，在從雷達上看到這只熱氣球在東中國海上空消失后，通報了日本海上保安廳。
A coast guard helicopter soon spotted the colourful balloon in the water about 20km from one of the islands, and a ship was dispatched to pick up Mr Xu, who was not seriously injured.
海上保安廳的一架直升機很快就在距離其中一個島嶼大約20公里的海面上看到了色彩鮮艷的氣球，并派一艘船趕赴現場救起許帥軍。許帥軍沒有受重傷。
After ascertaining Mr Xu’s nationality, the coast guard handed him to a nearby Chinese ship.
在確定許帥軍的國籍后，日本海上保安廳將他移交給附近的一艘中國海警船。
According to Japanese media reports, the Chinese captain expressed gratitude to the coast guard for rescuing a Chinese citizen.
據日本媒體報道，中方船長感謝日本海上保安廳營救一名中國公民。
Although military forces have not clashed directly in the territorial dispute, past incidents involving private citizens have helped to inflame it. China reacted angrily when Japan arrested a fishing boat captain in 2010 after his ship struck a Japanese coast guard patrol boat near the islands.
雖然雙方的軍事力量迄今未在這場領土糾紛中直接沖突，但以往曾有涉及私人的事件加劇糾紛。2010年，一艘中國漁船在爭議島嶼附近沖撞日本海上保安廳巡邏船后，日方逮捕了漁船船長，對此中國作出了憤怒反應。
A group of Hong Kong-based Chinese nationalists in 2012 landed on one of the islands, igniting another diplomatic incident between the countries.
2012年，香港一群中國民族主義者登上了其中一個島嶼，在中日兩國間點燃了又一場外交事件。
Japanese nationalists have pointedly sailed ships near the islands, on which they are forbidden to land by Japanese authorities.
日本民族主義者針鋒相對地駕船航行至爭議島嶼附近，盡管日本政府禁止他們登島。
A week before the balloon incident, relations between Japan and China sank further when Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, visited Tokyo’s Yasukuni war shrine, a site reviled by many in China and Korea as a symbol of Japanese imperialism.
氣球事件發生一周前，日中關系進一步下滑，原因是日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)參拜了靖國神社(Yasukuni war shrine)，這個供奉戰爭死難者亡靈的地方被中國和韓國的許多人視為日本軍國主義的一個符號。
The act broke an informal seven-year freeze on visits to Yasukuni by Japanese premiers.
安倍此舉打破了七年來在任日本首相不親自參拜靖國神社的慣例。
