India’s Missile Launch Puts China In Range

　　India’s successful test of a nuclear-capable missile, which it hopes will send a message of strength to China, drew a heated response from some state-affiliated Chinese media Thursday, while Beijing sought to play down the test and its impact on ties between the two countries.

　　印度成功试射了一枚可携带核弹头的导弹，它希望藉此向中国展示自己的实力。中国一些国有媒体周四对此做出强烈反应，同时北京方面力求淡化印度的导弹试验及其对中印关系带来的影响。

　　Overall, the launch early Thursday from an island off India’s east coast, one in a series of regular tests, drew little criticism or expressions of mistrust from outside India.

　　总体来说，印度周四早间的导弹试验并未引起其他国家和地区的什么批评或猜疑。导弹发射自印度东海岸的一个岛屿，属于印度一系列常规试验中的一个。

　　India’s relations with China are stable, though frosty. The two fought a 1962 war over disputed borders in the Himalayas, which Beijing won. The main achievement of the test-firing was one of range: The locally built Agni-V missile can now travel 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles)--or comfortably as far as most of China, including Beijing and Shanghai, which many in India view as a decisive step in narrowing the nation’s military gap with its neighbor.

　　印度与中国的关系稳定但非常冷淡。1962年，两国因在喜马拉雅山脉的边境争端而陷入战争，中国最终获得了胜利。印度导弹试验的主要成就在于导弹的射程：这枚印度国产的“烈火五型”(Agni V)导弹目前能够飞行5,000公里，可以轻松覆盖中国大部分地区，包括北京和上海。印度很多人将实现这样的射程视为缩小印度与邻国之间军事差距的具有决定意义的一步。

　　’India has finally reached deterrence parity with China,’ said Bharat Karnad, a security expert at the Center for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based think tank.

　　总部位于新德里的智库政策研究中心(Center for Policy Research)安全专家卡纳德(Bharat Karnad)说，印度终于在威慑力上与中国势均力敌了。

　　The Global Times, a Chinese nationalist tabloid published by the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily newspaper, warned India not to be ’arrogant during disputes with China’ after the Agni-V launch. ’India should be clear that China’s nuclear power is stronger and more reliable. For the foreseeable future, India would stand no chance in an overall arms race with China.’

　　《环球时报》的一篇评论文章警告说，印度不可高估自己今天的力量，以为它拥有了可以覆盖中国大多数地区的战略导弹，就有了可以在领土等争议中对华采取傲慢态度的筹码。印度得清楚，中国的战略核力量要比印度强大、可靠得多。在可预见的未来内，如果印度与中国全面军备竞赛，印度没有胜算。《环球时报》是中国共产党喉舌中国日报社发行的宣扬民族主义的报纸。

　　Chinese officials were more circumspect. At a daily briefing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Beijing had taken note of the test but added that, ’India and China are not rivals but cooperative partners.’

　　中国官员对这个问题则更加慎重。中国外交部发言人刘为民在例行记者会上说，中方注意到有关报道；中国和印度不是竞争对手，而是合作伙伴。

　　U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner, responding to questions about India’s test plans before the test occurred, urged ’all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint regarding nuclear capabilities.’

　　在印度进行导弹试验前，美国国务院发言人托纳(Mark Toner)回答有关试验计划的提问时，敦促所有具有核能力的国家在核能力方面保持克制。

　　He added: ’That said, India has a solid nonproliferation record. They’re engaged with the international community on nonproliferation issues.’

　　他还说，不过，印度有着可靠的核不扩散纪录，他们在核不扩散问题上与国际社会保持着接触。

　　Mr. Karnad, the security expert, said the tests had little impact on Pakistan, a nuclear power that has fought three wars with India. New Delhi’s shorter-range ballistic missiles already cover Pakistani territory, he said. There was no immediate response to the test from Pakistani officials.

　　防务安全专家卡纳德说，试射导弹对巴基斯坦几乎没有造成影响。他说，印度的中短程弹道导弹射程已经覆盖巴基斯坦领土。巴基斯坦这个核大国同印度发生过三次战争。巴基斯坦官员对此次导弹试射没有立即做出反应。

　　Experts say Agni-V places the country on a footing with China, which already has missiles capable of striking deep into Indian territory. Earlier Indian missiles had a range of up to 3,500 kilometers, while the new one can travel even deeper into China.

　　专家说“烈火五型”导弹令印度能和中国一较高下。中国已经拥有能够打击印度领土腹地的导弹。此前印度导弹的最远射程为3,500公里，而“烈火五型”能进一步深入中国腹地。

　　New Delhi and Beijing continue to contest large parts of their shared 4,000-kilometer Himalayan frontier, despite warming trade relations between the nations. India’s government views its nuclear capabilities as crucial because Beijing can afford to spend much more on conventional defense than New Delhi.

　　尽管中印两国贸易关系不断升温，但新德里和北京在两国接壤的4,000公里喜马拉雅边境大部分地区依旧存在争议。印度政府认为核能力至关重要，因为和印度相比，中国有能力在常规防御上投入多得多的资金。

　　Many Indians see the country’s nuclear program as key to asserting its influence on world affairs. In 1998, India’s nuclear tests were code-named ’Operation Shakti,’ the Sanskrit word for strength. A former ballistic-missile scientist, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, became the nation’s figurehead president in 2002 to 2007.

　　许多印度人认为该国的核计划是印度得以在国际事务上施加影响力的关键。1998年，印度进行了一次代号为Operation Shakti的核试验。在梵文中，Shakti的意思是“实力”。一位前弹道导弹专家卡拉姆(A.P.J. Abdul Kalam)在2002年至2007年成为印度没有实权的总统。

　　NDTV, an Indian cable news channel, called the test Thursday from Wheeler Island, off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa, a ’high-five moment for Agni and India’.

　　印度有线新闻频道NDTV称，周四在印度东部奥里萨邦沿海的惠勒岛(Wheeler Island)进行的试射对印度和“烈火”系列导弹来说是值得庆贺的一刻。

　　Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the launch, which he termed ’another milestone in our quest to add to the credibility of our security and preparedness and to continuously explore the frontiers of science.’

　　印度总理辛格(Manmohan Singh)称赞此次试射成功。辛格说，在我们试图提升安全和防务的可靠性以及不断探索科学前沿的历程中，“烈火五型”试射成功是又一个里程碑。

　　Much of India’s nuclear strategy focuses on improving delivery vehicles.

　　印度核战略主要聚焦提高运载工具的性能。

　　’Because there is so little public discussion on the nuclear weapons themselves, the frequent testing of a diverse array of ballistic missiles, of increasingly longer range, is the most visible reminder of India’s growing nuclear capability,’ M.V. Ramana, a nuclear-energy expert, wrote in a recent report.

　　核能专家拉玛纳(M.V. Ramana)在最近一份报告中写道，由于印度很少公开谈论核武器，所以频繁试射各类射程越来越远的弹道导弹则在清楚地提醒我们，印度的核能力在不断增强。

　　India is aiming to complete a ’nuclear triad,’ a system that would allow nuclear weapons to be delivered from air, land and sea.

　　印度的目标是形成“三基核打击能力”体系，可以从海、陆、空发射核武器。

　　The missiles in the Agni series, which take their name from the Hindi word for fire, are the cornerstone of India’s mobile land-based nuclear-delivery system.

　　“烈火”系列弹道导弹是印度移动陆基核运载系统的基石。“烈火”(Agni)这一名字来自印地语中的“火神”一词。

　　India’s ’Arihant’ nuclear-powered submarine was launched in 2009 but still hasn’t formally entered into active service. It is unclear whether India’s range of fighter jets, which include Jaguar IS/IB, Mirage 200-H and Sukhoi-30 MKI models, are capable of carrying nuclear payloads.

　　印度“歼敌”号(Arihant)核潜艇于2009年下水，但还没有正式进入军队服役。目前还不清楚印度的战斗机群是否具备携带核弹头的能力。这些战斗机包括美洲虎IS/IB(Jaguar IS/IB)，幻影200-H(Mirage 200-H)以及苏-30MKI(Sukhoi-30 MKI)等机型。

　　Margherita Stancati

　　Margherita Stancati