A new Pentagon report to Congress puts the spotlight on the U.S. military's critical dependence on materials known as rare-earth metals and recommends alternatives to Chinese sources of supply.

　　美国国防部新近提交给国会的一份报告使人得以一窥美国军方对稀土的严重依赖，报告建议开发中国以外的稀土供应源。

　　The report, an annual assessment of the health of the U.S. military's manufacturing base, features a section that focuses on a potential Achilles' heel for the U.S. military: its reliance on rare-earth metals for manufacturing high-end weaponry.

　　这份对美国军用制造业基础的年度评估报告专门用一个章节来重点讨论美军的致命弱点：美国在制造高端武器方面对稀土金属的依赖。

　　At issue is a group of 17 elements with unique magnetic properties that are vital to 21st-century consumer technology, found in everything from smartphones to hybrid car batteries.

　　稀土是对17种金属元素的统称，这些金属有独特的磁性，从智能电话到混合动力汽车的电池，21世纪几乎所以的消费品技术都离不开稀土。

　　The elements are also essential to modern warfare. High-end weapons such as precision-guided bombs and advanced fighter aircraft depend on components built with rare-earth magnets, as do night-vision goggles and targeting lasers.

　　稀土对现代战争也起着重要作用，精确制导炸弹和先进战斗机等高端武器都要依赖需用到稀土磁铁的零部件，夜视镜和锁定目标的激光器也是这样。

　　China produces more than 95% of the world's rare-earth oxides, and the country's near-monopoly in mining and processing them has raised alarms in Washington, particularly following Beijing's moves last year to impose export quotas on them.

　　中国出产全世界95%以上的稀土氧化物，中国在稀土的开采和加工方面占据着近乎垄断的地位，这给华盛顿拉响了警报，在中国政府去年开始对稀土出口实施配额限制以后，美国政府尤其提高了警觉。

　　'It is essential that a stable non-Chinese source of REO [rare earth oxides] be established so that the U.S. RE supply chain is no longer solely dependent on China's RE exports,' the report, made public Tuesday, states.

　　本周二对外公布的这份报告强调说：重要的是要开辟一个中国以外的稳定的稀土氧化物供应源，这样美国的稀土供应链才能不再完全依赖中国的稀土出口。

　　Last year, the Defense Department launched a comprehensive study to examine the potential national-security vulnerabilities of U.S. rare-earth material dependency. That study hasn't been released to the public. But this latest report shows that the Pentagon has launched an effort to identify U.S. companies that could process rare-earth oxides into metals. It also says defense agencies have studied the risk of potential supply disruptions.

　　去年，美国国防部曾就美国对稀土的依赖给美国国家安全造成的潜在弱点进行了一次广泛评估。这一研究报告一直未向公众公布。但国防部周二最新公布的这份报告显示，五角大楼已开始着手找出哪些美国公司有可能会将稀土氧化物加工成稀土金属。报告还说，美国的国防部门已经研究了如果稀土供应中断会造成哪些风险。