【9月10日】看軍聞學英語

■刀客

原文：

U.S. officials say the Trump administration is poised to escalate its actions against China by stepping squarely into one of the most sensitive regional issues dividing them and rejecting outright nearly all of Beijing's significant maritime claims in the South China Sea.

In a move the officials say is expected as early as Monday, the administration will present the decision as an attempt to curb China's increasing assertiveness in the region with a commitment to recognizing international law.

But it will almost certainly have the more immediate effect of further infuriating the Chinese, who are already retaliating against numerous U.S. sanctions and other penalties on other matters.

中譯：

美國官員表示，川普政府已準備好要擴大抗「中」行動，採取大幅度介入南海，這個美「中」分庭抗禮、極具敏感、爭議的地區之一，並嚴正否認北京當局近乎全部的南海重大海權主張。

官員們表示，預料華府最快在週一就會有所行動，展現決心，務使中共承認國際法，以遏止中共日漸取得在南海地區的合法地位。

但是，幾乎可以肯定的是，中共早已對美國諸多制裁，及其他方面的懲罰措施，採取報復作為，此舉只會更加激怒中共而已。

－關鍵軍語－

※claim:

A demand or request for something considered one's due.

例句：

China has sought to shore up its claim to the South China Sea by building military bases on coral atolls, leading the U.S. to sail warships through the region in what it calls freedom of operation missions.

中共藉由在珊瑚環礁上建立軍事基地，企圖坐實其對南海的掌控，此舉引發美國將戰艦航經此地區，以遂行其所謂的行動自由任務。