John Kerry, US secretary of state, warned on Monday that the future stability of the Asia-Pacific region will depend on long-stalled efforts by China and southeast Asian nations to draw up a code of conduct to manage territorial disputes in the South China Sea.		美国国务卿约翰?克里(John Kerry)周一警告称，亚太地区未来的稳定将有赖于中国和东南亚国家制订南海行为准则的努力，以管控南海地区的领土争端。这一努力已多年停滞不前。
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that the region’s future stability will depend in part on the success and timeliness of the effort to produce a code of conduct,” Mr Kerry said at a press conference with Marty Natalegawa, the Indonesia foreign minister, who has spearheaded efforts by the 10 member Association of Southeast Asian Nations to advance talks on the code with Beijing.		“不夸张地说，本地区未来的稳定在一定程度上将取决于达成一份行为准则的努力的成功和及时性，”克里在与印尼外长马蒂?纳塔莱加瓦(Marty Natalegawa)共同举办的新闻发布会上表示。纳塔莱加瓦一直在牵头东盟(ASEAN) 10个成员国与中国谈判达成行为准则的努力。
“The longer the process takes, the longer tensions will simmer and the greater the chance of a miscalculation by somebody that could trigger a conflict.”		“这个过程拖得越长，紧张局势就会发酵越久，因某一方误判而引发冲突的可能性就越大。”
Mr Kerry, who was in Jakarta on the final stop of a three-country Asian trip, had earlier called on Chinese leaders to pursue their claims in the East and South China Seas peacefully and abandon their more assertive approach.		雅加达是克里此次亚洲之行三站中的最后一站。此前克里呼吁中国领导人以和平方式声索中方在东海和南海的主权主张，放弃比较强硬的姿态。
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and, after investing heavily in its naval capacity, has in recent years become more assertive. This has increased tension in one of Asia’s biggest potential military flashpoints and exacerbated nervousness in Washington about Beijing’s rise.		中国宣称对几乎整个南海拥有主权，并在大举投资扩建海军实力后，近年变得更加自信。这加剧了亚洲最大潜在军事冲突爆发地点之一的紧张局势，也加剧了华盛顿方面对中国崛起的焦虑。
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – all Asean members – also claim sovereignty over parts of the South China Sea, alongside Taiwan.		文莱、马来西亚、菲律宾和越南（这些都是东盟成员国）以及台湾也宣称拥有南海部分主权。
Asean and China agreed a preliminary declaration of conduct in the South China Sea in 2002 but attempts to formalise it into a code of conduct have made little progress thus far.		2002年东盟与中国达成了初步的《南海各方行为宣言》，但落实这一宣言、制定一份正式的行为准则的努力迄今进展甚微。
China has long insisted that it will only discuss territorial disputes on a bilateral basis, but Asean claimant states want to hold multilateral negotiations with their much stronger neighbour.		中国一直坚称，它只会在双边基础上讨论领土争端，但声索南海主权的东盟国家希望与强大得多的中国举行多边谈判。
Chinese and Asean officials say that talks on the code of conduct are ongoing but there is no timetable for when it might be completed.		中国和东盟官员表示，有关行为准则的谈判仍在进行，但目前还没有何时能完成的时间表。
Mr Kerry praised Mr Natalegawa’s efforts to form a consensus in southeast Asia and speed up progress towards drafting a code of conduct.		克里对纳塔莱加瓦在东南亚凝聚共识、推动起草行为准则的努力表示赞赏。
“I urge all parties to follow his lead and accelerate the negotiations,” he said.		“我敦促有关各方以他为榜样，加快谈判，”他表示。