奧巴馬首晤東南亞領導人

圖：美國國務卿希拉里（戴墨鏡者）與眾議員列文(Sander Levin，背對鏡頭者)周三在新加坡交談

美國總統奧巴馬(Barack Obama)下周將首次與東南亞國家領導人召開峰會，美國正努力在該地區重建主導地位；東南亞地區在全球貿易中扮演著關鍵角色，該地區與中國的關系近年來得到了迅速發展。

President Barack Obama will hold a first-ever summit with the leaders of Southeast Asia next week as the U.S. tries to regain its dominance in a region that plays a crucial role in global trade but has rapidly expanded ties with China in recent years.

奧巴馬與東南亞國家領導人的峰會將于本周日在新加坡召開的亞太經濟合作組織(APEC)領導人年度會議間隙進行。預計此次峰會將包括美國總統和緬甸高級領導人數十年來最高規格的一次會晤。緬甸軍政府被指責普遍侵犯人權，美國對緬甸實施了嚴格的經濟制裁措施；多年來，關于如何處理與緬甸關系的分歧一直影響著美國與東南亞國家的關系。

The summit, which will take place Sunday on the sidelines of an annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' gathering in Singapore, is expected to include one of the highest-level meetings between a U.S. president and a top Myanmar leader in decades. The U.S. imposes strict economic sanctions on Myanmar, whose military regime is accused of widespread human-rights abuses, and disagreements over how to treat the country have clouded U.S. relations with Southeast Asia for years.

去年中國取代美國，成為東南亞第三大貿易伙伴，僅次于日本和歐盟27國，雙方貿易總額達到了1,930億美元。今年8月，中國與東盟(Asean) 10國簽署了自由貿易協定，有望進一步推動雙方關系。

Last year, China overtook the U.S. as Southeast Asia's third-largest trading partner after Japan and the 27-member European Union, with 3 billion in two-way trade. In August, Beijing finalized a free-trade pact with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is likely to further boost ties.

東南亞地區具有重要地位，該地區擁有將近6億人口，民眾收入迅速增長。2004年至2008年期間，東南亞地區的名義國內生產總值(GDP)總計增長了一倍以上。在美國和歐洲陷入經濟衰退之際，印尼和越南等幾個東南亞國家今年經濟卻強勁增長。

The region is no small prize. With nearly 600 million people and rapidly rising incomes, it saw its combined nominal gross domestic product more than double between 2004 and 2008, and several of the region's countries, including Indonesia and Vietnam, have posted solid growth this year even as the U.S. and Europe slid into recessions.

中國的資本在一定程度上推動了這些國家的經濟增長。中國投資資金大舉涌入緬甸、印尼和其他地區的自然資源項目和其他交易，而中國修路、建橋和鋪設鐵路等大規模援助工程也令柬埔寨和老撾等較為貧困的國家受益。一些批評人士說，所有這些已經使得中國在東南亞地區的聲望高過美國。

Chinese capital has helped fuel their growth. Chinese investment has poured into natural-resources projects and other deals in Myanmar, Indonesia, and elsewhere, and poorer nations, like Cambodia and Laos, have benefited from large Chinese goodwill projects to build roads, bridges and rail links. All of that has made Beijing more visible than Washington in the region, some critics say.

前東盟秘書長塞維里諾(Rodolfo Severino)說，從美國方面來說，他們需要更為主動。塞維里諾目前是新加坡東南亞研究所(Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore)的東盟研究中心(Asean Studies Center)主任。

'The U.S., for its part, needs to be more active,' said Rodolfo Severino, a former Asean secretary general, who now heads the Asean Studies Center at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

預計緬甸總理登盛(Thein Sein)和其他東南亞領導人將與會，此次會議可能不會達成重要協議。但分析人士說，這次峰會將具有重要的象征性意義，標志著美國再度接觸東南亞地區。奧巴馬在東南亞度過了部分童年，他在該地區仍然極受歡迎。

No major agreements are expected out of the meeting, which is expected to include Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein and other Southeast Asian leaders. Still, analysts say it will hold major symbolic importance as a sign of renewed U.S. engagement in a part of the world where Mr. Obama spent part of his childhood and where he remains extremely popular.

這一峰會還將給本周舉行的范圍更廣的APEC 21國領導人峰會增加一點戲劇性。APEC成員國包括中國、墨西哥、美國和澳大利亞，占據了全球經濟54%的權重。預計此次APEC領導人會議的重點會放在采取什么途徑維持全球刺激性資金流動，避免此次經濟衰退出現倒退，以及推動自由貿易；不過，APEC峰會的影響力仍次于二十國集團(G20)領導人會議等其他重要國際性會議。

It will also add some measure of drama to the wider summit held this week among leaders of the 21-nation APEC group, which includes China, Mexico, the U.S. and Australia, and represents some 54% of the world economy. Attendees of that gathering are expected to focus on ways to keep stimulus flowing world-wide to prevent a relapse of the latest recession and to promote free trade, though the summit's influence is secondary to other major international gatherings such as meetings of members of the Group of 20.

當然，美國仍然在東南亞擁有重要的政治和經濟影響力。東南亞的出口導向型經濟一定程度上依賴于美國消費者來推動經濟增長。軍事方面，美國仍然在該地區發揮著主導作用，包括在印尼和菲律賓培訓反恐部隊，協助打擊東南亞與基地組織(al Qaeda)有關聯的伊斯蘭武裝組織。

The U.S., of course, still has a major political and economic presence in Southeast Asia. Its export-driven economies rely in part on U.S. consumers to fuel their growth. And the U.S. continues to play the predominant military role in the region, including training counterterrorism forces in Indonesia and the Philippines that have helped break al Qaeda-linked Islamic militant networks in Southeast Asia.

但對于有緬甸軍政府領導人參與的高級別東盟會議或廣泛的經濟協議，美國迄今仍拒絕參加或簽署。相反，美國專注于與東南亞國家分別達成雙邊協議，例如2003年與新加坡達成的自由貿易協議，這使得批評人士更加覺得美國輕視了與東盟的關系。

But Washington has until now declined to attend high-level Asean meetings or forge wider-ranging economic pacts that involve Myanmar's military leaders. Instead, the U.S. has concentrated on bilateral agreements with individual Southeast Asian countries, such as a 2003 free-trade pact with Singapore, which has added to the sense among critics that it undervalues its relationship with Asean.

東南亞地區的其他一體化舉措──包括近期東盟、印度、澳大利亞、新西蘭和韓國之間達成的自由貿易協定──已經使得一些美國官員擔心美國會被迫靠邊站。上個月，美國參議院外交關系委員會(Senate Foreign Relations Committee)的共和黨少數派領袖參議員盧格(Richard Lugar)提出了一項決議，呼吁美國與東盟達成貿易協議。他說，對緬甸的貿易限制措施不應該阻礙美國和東盟達成這一協議。

Other efforts at integrating the region -- including recent free-trade agreements between Asean and India, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea -- have left some in Washington worried that the U.S. is getting left behind. Last month, Sen. Richard Lugar, the Republican minority leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a resolution calling for a trade agreement between the U.S. and Asean. Trade restrictions with Myanmar shouldn't hinder the deal, he said.