VOA慢速英语:China Develops Its Drone Industry

 China said last week that it had considered launching a drone strike against a major Burmese drug trafficker wanted in the killings of 13 Chinese sailors.  
中国上周称，曾考虑向杀害13名中国船员而被通缉的缅甸毒品走私者发动无人机袭击。

China's top drug official, Liu Yuejin, said the plan was to bomb the drug lord’s hideout in northeastern Burma using unmanned aircraft.
中国缉毒最高官员刘跃进说，原计划是使用无人机轰炸这名毒枭在缅甸东北部的藏身之处。

The official said the drone strike idea was eventually passed over in order to capture Naw Kham alive. He was captured last April in a joint operation with Laos.
该官员说，用无人机活捉糯康的计划最终流产。糯康去年4月在中国和老挝的一次联合行动中被抓获。

The comments by the official are a sign of China’s increasing development of unmanned aerial technology. They also suggest that China is seriously considering drone attacks outside its borders.
用这位官员的话说，这件事标志着中国的无人机技术日益发展。他们还暗示，中国正在认真考虑无人机境外空袭。

Peter Dutton is with the United States Naval War College. He says China is moving away from its earlier policy of non-interference in international affairs.
彼得•达顿就职于美国海战学院，他说中国正逐步摆脱早期不干涉国际事务的政策。

"This is a new change. This is China behaving more actively in the international sphere to protect its interests beyond its borders than it had in the past."
“这是新的变化，中国在国际上日益活跃，与以往相比，中国正努力保护边境之外的利益。”

For years, the United States has led the global drone market. It is known to use UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicle, strikes against foreign targets.
多年来，美国一直在全球无人机市场中处于主导地位。众所周知美国使用无人机空袭外国目标。

In recent years, China has greatly improved its drone technology. It showed off many of its new models at recent air shows in the country. One of the drones reaches distances of over 3,200 kilometers.
近年来，中国在无人机技术上取得重大进展。在最近该国的航空展上，中国展示了许多新机型。其中一架无人机飞行距离达到了3200公里。

The country is also modernizing its global navigation system to compete with those of the United States, Russia and Europe. 
中国还使其全球导航系统现代化，努力与美国、俄罗斯和欧洲竞争。

The United States has justified drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia by saying their governments have been unwilling or unable to suppress the threats from the individuals targeted.
美国为自己在巴基斯坦、也门和索马里使用无人机辩护，称这些国家的政府不愿或不能压制这些个体目标的威胁。

American University law professor Stephen Vladeck says Washington needs to be much more specific about its conditions for using armed UAVs.
美洲大学法律教授斯蒂芬•弗拉德克说，华盛顿必须将其使用无人机的条件更为具体化。

"Part of the problem is that because the U.S. government is engaged in what seems like so many drone strikes, and has not exactly been forthcoming about the criteria it uses, it's possible for countries like China to point at the U.S. example and say, 'if they're doing it, so can we.'"
“部分问题在于，美国政府使用这么多次无人机袭击，但却没有具体规定其使用标准，这样中国这些国家就可能以美国为榜样，并说，‘如果美国这样做，我当然也可以。’”

The United States exports unmanned aircraft to only a few of its closest allies. China is now seen as an increasingly reliable and cheap supplier. Several countries have bought or built their own UAVs, mostly for surveillance. Professor Vladeck finds this concerning.
美国只向少数亲密盟国出口无人机，中国目前日益被视为可靠和廉价的供应商。一些国家已经购买或建造了他们自己的无人机，其目的主要用于侦查。弗拉德克教授对此担忧。

"The problem is that this technology is becoming so widely available and so cheap, that I think it is only a matter of time before countries with far smaller militaries, countries with far less responsible regimes, are in a position where they want to use these technologies as well."
“问题是这项技术正变得如此广泛使用和廉价，因此我认为各国军队规模更小只是时间问题。一些很不负责的政权也有条件使用这个技术。”