Anyone still not clear about what gunboat diplomacy means only has to look at what the United States has done to Venezuela to gain enlightenment. It has abducted the president of the South American country and is implementing plans to rob it of its oil resources.

若有人仍不明白炮舰外交的含义，只需看看美国对委内瑞拉所作所为便能豁然开朗。它绑架了这个南美国家的总统，并正实施计划掠夺其石油资源。

If that is not enough, US President Donald Trump's remarks about Greenland, an autonomous island of Denmark, leave no room for equivocation.

若这还不够，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普对丹麦自治岛屿格陵兰的言论则毫不含糊。

In response to a question from the BBC on Friday, Trump said that the US needs to "own" Greenland to prevent Russia and China from doing so, and that the US will acquire it either "the easy way" or "the hard way". This follows a recent White House statement that the administration was considering buying the territory of fellow NATO member Denmark, but it would not rule out the option of annexing it by force.

针对英国广播公司周五的提问，特朗普表示美国需要“拥有”格陵兰岛，以阻止俄罗斯和中国这样做，并称美国将通过“和平方式”或“武力方式”获得该岛。此前白宫发表声明称，政府正在考虑购买北约盟国丹麦的领土，但不排除以武力吞并该岛的可能性。

By saying so, the US leadership has shown that it does not have a smattering of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a sovereign country.

特朗普的此番言论表明，他们对主权国家的主权和领土完整连最起码的尊重都没有。

In a joint statement on Friday, Greenland's political parties rejected Trump's repeated threats to take control of the island, saying that its future must be decided by its people.

格陵兰各政党周五发表联合声明，驳斥特朗普一再威胁要控制该岛的言论，强调该岛的未来必须由其人民决定。

The joint statement issued by the leaders of various political parties in Greenland, stating that "Greenlanders do not want to become Americans", was a clear expression of the sentiment of the overwhelming majority of Greenland's population, who have consistently opposed the idea of becoming part of the US.

格陵兰各政党领导人发表的联合声明称“格陵兰人不愿成为美国人”，这充分表达了该国绝大多数民众的意愿——他们始终反对成为美国领土的想法。

The statement effectively closed the loophole that the US administration might have hoped to exploit by claiming to act on the wishes of the Greenlandic people to "obtain" the island. The statement also prevents the US from creating and exploiting discord between the autonomous territory and Denmark, and legally blocks the possibility of the US acquiring Greenland.

该声明实质上堵住了美国政府可能试图利用的漏洞——即声称代表格陵兰人民意愿来“获取”该岛。该声明同时阻止了美国在自治领地与丹麦之间制造并利用分歧的行为，并从法律层面封堵了美国获取格陵兰的可能性。

By openly declaring that "it needs" an autonomous region of another sovereign country, Washington is telling the world that it has no regard for norms of international relations and no respect for international law.

华盛顿公然宣称“需要”另一个主权国家的自治区，这向世界表明其根本无视国际关系准则，更无视国际法。

Denmark is a member of NATO, and the US has long been the leader of the security alliance. If the US takes Greenland by force, it will be attacking its own ally. That effectively means the end of NATO.

丹麦是北约成员国，而美国长期以来一直是该安全联盟的领导者。如果美国武力夺取格陵兰岛，就相当于攻击自己的盟友。这实际上意味着北约的终结。

If theabduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Jan 3 emboldens the US to proceed with theannexation of Greenland, it will only further encourage the US administration to do whatever it wants in brazen disregard of international law.

若1月3日委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗及其夫人遭绑架事件，竟使美国胆敢推进吞并格陵兰岛的计划，这只会进一步纵容美国政府肆无忌惮地践踏国际法，为所欲为。

If Washington is allowed to use the lie that other countries intend to grab Greenland to acquire the Danish territory, then the US would be able to use the same pretext to grab whatever territories it desires from any other country. If that becomes the reality, the world will plunge into the colonial past in which might was right and there will be no fairness and justice in international relations.

倘若允许华盛顿以“他国意图侵占格陵兰”的谎言为借口夺取丹麦领土，那么美国便能用同样的借口从任何国家掠夺其垂涎的领土。若此种局面成为现实，世界将重陷殖民时代的黑暗岁月——那时强权即公理，国际关系中再无公平正义可言。

Leaders of seven European countries—Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom—issued a joint statement last week affirming that Greenland "belongs to its people".

七个欧洲国家——丹麦、法国、德国、意大利、波兰、西班牙和英国的领导人上周发表联合声明，重申格陵兰岛“属于其人民”。

More European countries should stand up to the threat of the US and stand firmly behind Greenland. The so-called "Trump Corollary" of seeking absolute control over the geography, resources and sovereignty of the Americas, and even the entire Western Hemisphere, is threatening global stability and world peace. Not only Europe but the entire world should oppose the imperiousness of the US administration.

更多欧洲国家应当挺身对抗美国的威胁，坚定支持格陵兰。所谓“特朗普主义”——企图对美洲乃至整个西半球的地理、资源与主权实施绝对控制——正威胁着全球稳定与世界和平。不仅欧洲，全世界都应当反对美国政府的霸权行径。

China has long maintained that respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries is a basic principle of international relations. The international community should not allow the US to have an inch or it will take yard after yard after yard.

中国始终坚持尊重他国主权和领土完整是国际关系的基本准则。国际社会不应纵容美国得寸进尺，否则它必将变本加厉。

By abducting the Venezuelan president and voicing an unjustified claim on Greenland, Washington has shown it is prepared to plunge the entire world into chaos so it can feather its own nest.

通过绑架委内瑞拉总统并无理声称对格陵兰岛拥有主权，华盛顿已表明其不惜将整个世界推入混乱深渊，只为谋取私利。

beyond the pale

越界的、离谱的

abduction

n./æbˈdʌk.ʃən/

绑架

annexation

n./ˌæn.ekˈseɪ.ʃən/

吞并