As Southeast Asia scrambles to cope with China's assertiveness in maritime disputes, Japanese leaders are offering themselves to the region as a strategic counterweight to Beijing.

在东南亚国家忙着应对中国在海上争端中的强硬姿态之际，日本领导人正在以北京战略制衡者的身份向该地区提供帮助。

Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera became the latest senior Japanese official to call for greater cooperation between Japanese and Southeast Asian militaries, particularly in areas like humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief operations.

日本防卫大臣小野寺五典(Itsunori Onodera)上周六在新加坡举行的香格里拉对话会(Shangri-La Dialogue)上发表演讲，成为最新一位呼吁日本与东南亚国家加强军事合作的日本高层官员，特别是在人道主义救援和救灾行动等领域中的合作。

'Our efforts are not limited to the military domain, but also cover the area of maritime navigation safety,' Mr. Onodera told the Dialogue. 'We intend to actively promote our equipment and technology cooperation with other countries, particularly Asean member states in non-traditional security fields.'

小野寺五典在对话会上说：“我们的努力不仅限于军事领域，还包括海上航行安全领域”。他还说：“我们计划积极推进与其他国家在装备和技术方面的合作，特别是与东南亚国家联盟(Association of Southeast Asian Nations，简称：东盟)成员国在非传统安全领域的合作。”

His comments came a day after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo would provide 'utmost support' to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in maintaining regional security and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea-the scene of bitter territorial disputes and an ongoing standoff between Beijing and Hanoi over a Chinese oil rig deployed in waters claimed by both countries.

他发表上述讲话的前一天，日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)称，东京将在维护地区安全和南中国海（中国称南海）航行自由方面向东盟国家提供鼎力支持。南中国海是激烈领土争端的发生地，眼下北京与河内正在就中国在南中国海中越争议水域部署的一个石油 井平台展开对峙。

Mr. Abe, who took office for a second time in 2012, visited all 10 Asean members last year, pledging greater economic investment and security commitments in the region. On Friday, the prime minister said Tokyo is preparing to supply Vietnam with maritime patrol vessels, following plans to give 10 such craft to the Philippines and completed deliveries of three patrol boats to Indonesia.

安倍晋三于2012年第二次出任首相。他去年访问了东盟全部10个成员国，承诺加大对该地区的经济投资力度，并更多地致力于维护该地区的安全。上周五，安倍晋三称，东京准备向越南提供几艘海巡船，之前日本计划向菲律宾提供10艘海巡船，并已向印度尼西亚交付了三艘巡逻船。

'Prime Minister Abe is seizing the day, taking advantage of the huge opportunities that China has afforded him through its assertive behavior and has heightened Japan's profile on the world stage,' said Thomas Berger, professor of international relations at Boston University.

波士顿大学(Boston University)国际关系教授伯杰(Thomas Berger)表示，安倍晋三正在把握时机，利用中国的强硬姿态为其带来的巨大机遇，提升日本在世界舞台上的地位。

'His remarks will undoubtedly find a receptive audience,' Mr. Berger said. 'Increasingly, the front-line states in these territorial disputes-Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam-are working together to counter China's growing power.'

伯杰说，安倍晋三的话无疑将受到一些国家的欢迎。他还说，在这些领土争端中首当其冲的国家――日本、菲律宾和越南――日益联合起来对抗中国不断增强的实力。

The Abe government's efforts, part of Japan's push for a greater defense role in Asia, has been welcomed by the U.S. and other regional allies like the Philippines. China, however, remained unimpressed by what it sees as Japan's remilitarization-underscored by Mr. Abe's desire to remove decades-old constitutional limitations on the pacifist nation's armed forces.

安倍晋三政府的努力是日本力争在亚洲发挥更大防务作用计划的一部分。这项努力受到了美国和菲律宾等其他地区盟友的欢迎。不过，中国仍对其认为的日本再度军事化不满。安倍晋三渴望取消宪法中对日本武装力量长达数十年的限制，日本的再度军事化从中可见一斑。

Speaking on Friday before Mr. Abe's speech, Fu Ying, chairwoman of the Chinese legislature's foreign-affairs committee, accused the Japanese leader of engineering a crisis over disputed islands so as to create a 'myth...that China as a country is posing a threat to Japan as a country.'

上周五在安倍晋三发表演讲前，中国全国人大外事委员会主任委员傅莹指责安倍晋三策划了围绕争议岛屿的一场危机，称安倍晋三制造迷思（myth）将中国渲染为一个会威胁日本安全的国家。

Separately Friday, a Chinese military official questioned Mr. Abe's attitudes toward Japan's past military aggression, by referring to the prime minister's visit last year to the Yasukuni Shrine-a religious site that honors Japanese military dead, including a number of war criminals executed after World War II.

上周五，一位中国军官以安倍晋三去年参拜靖国神社为例，质疑安倍晋三对日本过去军事侵略行为的态度。靖国神社是一个宗教场所，供奉着死去的日本军人，包括多名被处决的二战战犯。

Southeast Asian countries, despite their own bitter memories of Japanese wartime aggression, have so far shown less wariness over a more assertive modern Japan, whose pacifist constitution-drafted in 1947 by Allied occupation forces-renounces the right to wage war and curbs its ability to support allies during armed conflict. While some regional leaders have questioned Mr. Abe over his views on Japan's militaristic past, typically they haven't done so as vehemently as their counterparts in China and South Korea, though that could change if Japan finds ways to become more assertive in the region.

尽管东南亚国家对日本战时的侵略行为也有着自己惨痛的记忆，但目前为止它们对一个更加强硬的现代日本显示出的警惕性较小。1947年同盟国占领军起草的日本和平宪法剥夺了日本发动战争的权利，限制了其在武装冲突中支援盟友的能力。尽管一些地区领导人因安倍晋三对日本军国主义历史所持的观点对其提出质疑，但通常来讲，他们的反应没有中国和韩国强烈，不过如果日本在该地区变得更加强硬，情况可能会发生改变。

Even so, some Asean countries have appeared cautious about taking sides in the China-Japan rivalry, appealing instead for more multilateral cooperation between Southeast Asia and major external powers.

即便如此，一些东盟国家似乎对于在中日对抗中选边站保持谨慎，呼吁东南亚和外部大国之间展开更多的多边合作。

Asean should 'work together towards establishing a common policy position on important issues, such as maritime security and our relations with major powers,' Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday. 'Major powers must sincerely understand us.'

马来西亚国防部长希山慕丁(Hishammuddin Hussein)上周六在香格里拉对话会上说，东盟应该联合起来就重要问题建立一个共同的政策立场，比如海上安全以及与大国之间的关系。他还说：大国必须由衷地理解我们。