印度军事基地建造计划引发塞舌尔争论

Planned Indian military base stirs Seychelles controversy

印度军事基地建造计划引发塞舌尔争论

VICTORIA: A plan for India to build a military base on an outlying Seychelles island has won favour among the archipelago nation's politicians, but some hostility from its people.

维多利亚：印度计划在塞舌尔偏远岛屿上建造军事基地的消息，得到该岛国政客的赞成，但却在民众中引发反对意见。

The base on Assumption Island is to be funded by India and shared by the two countries' militaries.

阿桑普申岛上的基地将由印度出资，由两国军队共同使用。

The deal was struck in principle in 2015 during a visit to the Seychelles by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but progress since has been slow.

2015年印度总理莫迪出访塞舌尔时，已原则上达成一致，但此后进程缓慢。

The government of the Seychelles, based in Victoria on Mahe Island 1,135 kilometres (705 miles) northeast of Assumption, says the base will help coastguards to patrol its 1.3 million square kilometre (500,000 square mile) exclusive economic zone for illegal fishing, drug trafficking and piracy.

塞舌尔政府位于马埃岛维多利亚，距离阿桑普申岛东北角约为1135公里（705）英里。该国政府称这个军事基地将协助海岸警卫队巡护除专属经济区以外130万平方公里（50万平方英里）的国土面积，打击非法捕鱼，毒品走私和海盗行为。

Currently, the remote coral island has a tin shack post office, an air strip and almost no people, it is less than seven kilometres long, has a high point just 30 metres (100 feet) above sea level and is covered in bird excrement.

目前，这个偏远的珊瑚岛屿已拥有一间锡棚邮局，一条机场跑道，几乎无人定居。该岛不足7公里长，最高点不过海拔30米高（100尺），岛上遍布鸟粪。

But its location lends it strategic importance for monitoring ship in the Mozambique Channel.

但该岛的地理位置使其成为观测莫桑比克海峡海运情况的战略要地。

India plans to invest $550 million dollars (446 million euros) in building the base to help it ensure the safety of its vessels in the southern Indian Ocean. It also says the base will be a resource for other ship nations.

印度计划投资5.5亿美金（4.46亿欧元）在此建造军事基地，保障其在南印度洋船只的安全。印度同时表示，此基地也将利于其他航运国家。

"Assumption is very close to the Mozambique Channel where much of the international trade is transiting, and not just for India but for other countries as well, and our interest is that our trading vessels are safe," said India's ambassador in Victoria, Ausaf Sayeed.

印度驻维多利亚大使，奥萨夫萨耶称：“阿桑普申岛距离莫桑比克海峡非常近，不单是印度，其他国家的大多数国际贸易将通过这里，我们关心的是我们的商船是否安全。”

India has had a military cooperation agreement with the Seychelles since 2003 and the deal would give it use of the Assumption base for up to 30 years. Indian soldiers would be deployed on the island and help train Seychelles' troops.

自2003年起，印度与塞舌尔签署了军事合作协议，协议同意印度可以使用阿桑普申岛基地30年之久。印度士兵可以被派往岛上并协助训练塞舌尔军队。

Seeking to allay fears the government has made available to the public some details of the classified defence agreement.

为减轻民众的担忧，政府公开了该机密协议的部分内容。

Nevertheless, the project remains controversial with small weekly demonstrations in the capital.

但是，此举还是在国内引发争议，首都每周都爆发小型抗议集会。

Indian presence in the Seychelles is a sensitive matter. Some fear an influx of Indian workers who, they say, might come to dominate the economy, while others consider a foreign power building a military base an affront to sovereignty and national pride.

印度在塞舌尔是个敏感话题。有些人担忧印度劳工流入会控制本国经济，有些人则认为任由他国在本土建造军事基地是对国家主权的侮辱和民族自豪感的践踏。

"The Seychelles can make its own military base, I am against any foreign military presence!" said Guilmert Corgat, a businessman in Victoria who attended a town hall meeting on the plan in late February.

维多利亚一名商人在参加2月底市政府关于此计划召开的大会上严正表态：“塞舌尔可以建造自己的军事基地，我反对任何国家的驻军。”

"If this deal is so good for the Seychelles, why don't we hold a referendum?" asked Alexa Amesbury, a lawyer.

一名律师则发问：“如果这个计划对塞舌尔这么有利，为什么我们不进行全民公决？”

During the discussions foreign minister Barry Faure was forced to insist the government was not giving the island away, "because Assumption belongs to the Seychelles".

外交部长巴里福尔不得不强调，政府不会将这个岛拱手想让，“阿桑普申岛属于塞舌尔”。

Opponents of the plan also cite Assumption's relative proxmity to Aldabra atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to the world's largest population of giant tortoises.

反对人士还提出阿桑普申岛临近阿尔达布拉环礁，后者是联合国教科文组织认定的世界遗产地，也是全球巨型陆龟最大族群的栖息地。

Despite the dissenting voices, Sayeed remains positive that parliament will ratify the new agreement when it reopens this month.

面对此起彼伏的反对声，萨耶仍对国会本月批准新协议表示乐观。

"I think politicians and people who see the positive side of this cooperation will be in favour, and I am convinced that it will pass," he said.

他说：“我认为积极看待此事的政治家们和民众会赞成的，我坚信协议会得到通过”。

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译文来源：三泰虎 http://www.santaihu.com/44344.html