美國不應無條件支持安倍

When Shinzo Abe begins his week-long tour of the US today, Washington will treat him as a friend. As well as being welcomed by President Barack Obama at a state dinner, Japan’s prime minister will address a joint session of Congress.

安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)今日對美國展開爲期一週的訪問之際，華盛頓將把他當作朋友。除了得到美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)的國宴款待外，這位日本首相還將在美國國會參衆兩院聯席會議上發表演講。

In spite of reservations in Washington about Mr Abe’s nationalist tendencies, for the most part the US applauds him as the most coherent leader Japan has had in a generation. Not only has he launched Abenomics, a plan to revive the economy that still hangs tantalisingly in the balance. He is also putting his country on the path to a more robust defence policy, something Washington has been urging on a reluctant Tokyo for decades.

儘管華盛頓對安倍的民族主義傾向有所保留，但從總體上說，美方讚賞他是日本一代人以來思路最連貫的領導人。他不僅推出了安倍經濟學（Abenomics，一套重振日本經濟的計劃，其成敗仍然難以看清，吊足了衆人的胃口），還讓日本走上邁向更強大國防政策的道路（這是華盛頓方面敦促了幾十年、而東京方面此前一直不情願做的事情）。

This show of goodwill is the right approach. For all his flaws, Mr Abe is on balance a good thing for a country that has drifted too long under a succession of fleeting, nondescript leaders. Yet Washington should not back him under all circumstances. That is especially true when it comes to relations with China. Above all, Washington must not give the impression that it wants to use Japan as a tool of containment. If it looks as though the US and Japan are ganging up on China, Beijing is likely to conclude that there is no peaceful path to its legitimate ambitions. The debacle over the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank — boycotted by both Washington and Tokyo — is a case in point.

熱情接待是正確的做法。儘管安倍有種種缺點，但是總的來說，他擔任首相對日本是件好事；這個國家在一連串任期短暫且平平淡淡的領導人治下蹉跎了太久。然而，華盛頓不應在任何情況下都支持安倍，尤其是在對華關係問題上。最重要的是，華盛頓不要給別人留下它想把日本用作一件遏制工具的印象。如果美國和日本看上去是在聯手對付中國，北京方面很可能得出這樣的結論，即沒有和平的路徑可以實現中國的正當抱負。在中國發起的亞洲基礎設施投資銀行（Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank，簡稱：亞投行）這件事上受挫（美日均予以抵制），就是一個很好的例子。

During Mr Abe’s visit, the joint attitudes of Japan and the US towards China will be tested in three broad arenas. The first is history. In his speech to Congress, Mr Abe will reflect on Japan’s actions in the second world war, which ended 70 years ago. Mr Abe is among those on the Japanese right who think the country has apologised enough. He has hinted that he wants to drop language used in previous apologies referring to “colonial rule”, “aggression” and “remorse”. Any manifestation of “Abenesia” would be a big mistake. Of course it is galling for Japan to be lectured by China, which has whitewashed much of its modern history, on the importance of historical accuracy. But as the aggressor in the second world war, Japan does not have the luxury to decide when the apologies end. If Mr Abe is to persuade the world that Japan can be trusted as a “normal” nation, he should bite his lip and repeat the old formula.

安倍訪美期間，日美兩國對中國的態度將在三大領域受到考驗。首先是歷史。在對美國國會發表的演講中，安倍將反思日本在70年前結束的第二次世界大戰中的行爲。安倍所屬的日本右翼認爲，日本已經進行了足夠的道歉。安倍已暗示，他想摒棄日本官方以前道歉時所提的“殖民統治”、“侵略”和“懊悔”。這種“安倍健忘症”(Abenesia)的任何表現都將是一個巨大錯誤。當然，在真實還原歷史的重要性這個問題上，日本難免對粉飾了本國很大一部分近代史的中國的說教不服氣。但是，身爲二戰中的侵略者，決定道歉什麼時候可以結束的特權不在日本手裏。如果安倍要說服世界相信日本是可以信任的“正常”國家，那麼他就應該咬住嘴脣、重複以往的道歉措辭。

Second, and related, is defence. Mr Abe wants to reinterpret Japan’s pacifist constitution to give Tokyo more leeway to participate in international affairs. The Pentagon wholly supports this. So do some of Japan’s neighbours that are worried about growing Chinese military power. This week, the US and Japan will issue new guidelines for defence co-operation designed to bring contingency planning up to date. There is no harm in this so long as it does not look like an anti-Chinese pact.

其次是相關的國防領域。安倍希望重新解釋日本的和平憲法，使日本在參與國際事務方面有更大的迴旋餘地。五角大樓完全支持這一點。擔心中國軍力日益增強的一些日本的鄰國也暗中叫好。本週，美國和日本將發佈新的防衛合作指針，旨在更新應急規劃。這麼做沒有危害——只要它看起來不像是一個反華協定。

There is ample room for China to be involved in regional military efforts, for example in emergency planning for natural disasters.

有足夠空間讓中國參與地區軍事行動，例如針對自然災害的緊急規劃。

Finally, there is trade. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade agreement that does not include China, received a fillip when a Senate panel approved a bill that would give Mr Obama the “fast-track” negotiating authority he needs. Again, TPP is fine so far is it goes. Yet it must be made clear that this is a trade agreement, not a geopolitical one in disguise. Beijing should be encouraged to join as soon as feasible. That would integrate China more closely into a rules-based system of the sort that Washington is continually advocating.

最後是貿易領域。《跨太平洋夥伴關係》（Trans-Pacific Partnership，簡稱TPP）——不包括中國的12國貿易協定——近日獲得推動，因爲美國參議院的一個委員會批准了授予奧巴馬其所需的“快車道”談判權力的法案。同樣，TPP就事論事是好的。然而，必須明確的是，這是一個貿易協定，而不是僞裝的地緣政治協定。應當鼓勵中國一旦具備條件就儘早加入。這將讓中國更緊密地融入美國始終不渝推崇的一個基於規則的體系。

During Mr Abe’s visit, the subtext should be that both the US and Japan want to draw China into the international community — not shut it out.

安倍訪美期間，潛臺詞應該是美日兩國都希望爭取中國融入國際社會，而不是將其拒之門外。