本文選自《經濟學人》20201010期
背景介紹：
今年9月21日，阿根廷政府當局發布了一張新的地圖，據該地圖顯示，阿根廷的國土面積相較於過去居然翻了一番。如今，阿根廷橫跨南美洲和南極洲，其領土範圍從南回歸線一直延伸至南極。阿根廷究竟是如何實現這一壯舉的?
Argentina doubles in size, or so it claims
阿根廷國土面積翻了一番，至少據其聲稱而言
The government takes advantage of a UN ruling to extend the country’s territorial waters
阿根廷政府利用聯合國的一項裁決擴大了該國的領海面積
Argentina’s president, Alberto Fernández, has plenty to worry about: a soaring covid-19 caseload and a depressed economy. So it must have been delightful for the government to change the subject on September 21st by issuing a map showing that the country’s territory is nearly double its former size.
阿根廷總統阿爾貝託·費爾南德斯有著許多煩心事：新冠肺炎感染病例的激增以及低迷的經濟。9月21日，阿根廷政府當局發布了一張新的地圖，該地圖所顯示的阿根廷國土面積幾乎是過去的兩倍，這對於想要改變國內悲觀氣氛的政府來說無疑是件好事。
It illustrates the effect of a law Mr Fernández signed in August, which expands Argentina by 1.7m square km (650,000 square miles), an area three times the size of metropolitan France.
這正是費爾南德斯在8月份籤署的一項法案所實現的效果，這項法案將阿根廷的國土面積擴大了170萬平方公裡(約合65萬平方英裡)，相當於三個法國本土面積之大。
Argentina now bestrides South America and Antarctica, from the Tropic of Capricorn to the South Pole. Its territory includes some of the world’s richest fishing grounds and possibly oil and gas. The Falkland islands, which Argentines call the Malvinas, lie within it.
阿根廷如今橫跨南美洲和南極洲，從南回歸線一直延伸至南極。其領土範圍將世界上最富饒的幾個漁場囊括其中，海底可能還有石油和天然氣。而福克蘭群島(阿根廷人稱之為馬爾維納斯群島)也在其中。
This is not entirely based on fantasy. In 2016 the UN’s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) issued a ruling, based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, that fixes the edge of the vast shelf that juts out from Argentina’s coast.
這也並非憑空想像而來。2016年，聯合國大陸架界限委員會(CLCS)根據《聯合國海洋法公約》發布了一項裁決，確定了從阿根廷海岸延伸出來的廣闊大陸架的邊緣。
There the seabed is shallow enough—less than 2,500 metres deep—to count as an extension of Argentina’s mainland. The effect of the ruling is to extend Argentina’s territorial waters beyond the normal 200 nautical miles (370km).
那裡的海床很淺(不到2500米深)，因此可以算作阿根廷大陸的延伸。這項裁決的結果是將阿根廷的領海延伸至通常情況下的200海裡(約合370公裡)之外。
Mauricio Macri, Argentina’s then-president, a conservative, celebrated the ruling in 2016 as a diplomatic victory but did not write it into law. His priority was friendly relations with the rest of the world, including Britain. In 1982 Britain fought a war to expel Argentina’s armed forces, which had invaded the Falklands that year.
2016年，時任阿根廷總統、保守派人士毛裡西奧·馬克裡對這一裁決表示歡迎，並將其稱之為一場外交勝利，但當時並未將其寫入法律。他當時的首要任務是與包括英國在內的世界其他國家建立友好關係。1982年，阿根廷軍隊登陸福克蘭群島，隨後英國向阿根廷發動了一場奪島戰爭。
Mr Fernández, a left-leaning Peronist, is more assertive. The law he signed in August, and the borders on his map, take in far more than the area to which CLCS said Argentina was entitled.
作為左翼庇隆主義者的費爾南德斯則更為自信。他在今年8月籤署的法案以及最 新發布的地圖所顯示的邊界，都遠遠超過了CLCS聲稱阿根廷有權享有區域的範圍。
In sending the territorial-expansion bill to Congress this year, Mr Fernández insisted on 「Argentina’s claim to the Malvinas」, which has long been part of its law and is endorsed by nearly all Argentines.
在今年向國會提交領土擴張法案時，費爾南德斯堅持「阿根廷對馬爾維納斯群島主權的主張」，該主張早已成為阿根廷法律的一部分，並得到了幾乎所有阿根廷人的支持。
The new official map shows South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands (also British), as part of Argentina, too, and adds areas that had it not claimed in law before. The British are mainly interested in the water’s riches, Argentina’s government thinks.
據最 新的官方地圖顯示，南喬治亞島和南桑威奇群島(也由英國實際控制)也屬於阿根廷的一部分，此外還增加了一些過去未曾在法律上主張的地區。阿根廷政府認為，英國人主要是對豐富的水資源感興趣。
That explains the 「stubbornness of British colonialism」, suggested Daniel Filmus, the government’s secretary for the Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic. The map asserts Argentine sovereignty over the Antarctic peninsula, an ice-cream cone poking into the Weddell sea, which is also claimed by Chile and Britain.
阿根廷負責馬爾維納斯群島、南極洲和南大西洋事務的官員丹尼爾·菲默斯認為，這解釋了「英國殖民主義的頑固性」。這張地圖表明了阿根廷對南極半島主權的主張，南極半島就像一個冰淇淋筒一般伸入了威德爾海，而智利和英國也宣稱擁有南極半島的主權。
In fact, the UN commission avoided taking a position 「in a case where a land or maritime dispute exists」. The areas it awarded Argentina are a fraction of the country’s claim.
事實上，聯合國委員會已經避免「在存在陸地或海洋爭端的情況下」發表立場。其所支持的阿根廷領土僅佔該國領土主張的一小部分。
Argentina does not plan to try to reconquer the islands, but it does hope to use its interpretation of the commission’s ruling to press Britain to negotiate. 「The UN is saying that the Malvinas is a matter of dispute,」 contends an adviser to the president. 「The British always try to say there is no dispute over the islands.」 Argentina’s foreign ministry put out a video calling for 「dialogue」 under UN auspices. Britain is unlikely to agree.
阿根廷並不打算武力奪回這些島嶼，但它確實希望利用其對聯合國委員會裁決的解釋迫使英國進行談判。總統顧問爭辯稱：「聯合國也認為馬爾維納斯群島主權存在爭議，但英國人總是試圖表明這些島嶼不存在爭議。」阿根廷外交部日前發布了一段視頻，呼籲兩國在聯合國主持下進行「對話」。但英國不太可能同意。
nautical [ˈnɔːtɪkl] adj. 航海的;海上的
assertive [əˈsɜːrtɪv] adj. 肯定的;獨斷的
stubbornness [ˈstʌbərnnəs] n. 倔強;頑強;棘手
auspice ['ɔspɪs] n. 贊助;吉兆