In 1995, when I was serving in the Pentagon, China began building structures on Mischief Reef, which is claimed by the Philippines and lies much closer to its shores than to China’s. The US issued a statement that we took no position on the competing claims by five states over the 750 or so rocks, atolls, islets, cays, and reefs that comprise the Spratlys, which cover a vast area – 425,000 square kilometers (164,000 square miles) – of the South China Sea.
1995年，我在五角大楼供职，当时中国刚开始建设美济礁。美济礁是菲律宾宣布主权的岛礁，距离菲律宾海岸比中国海岸更近。美国发表声明称我们对于五个国家在构成面积庞大的南海南沙群岛群岛（425,500平方公里）的750个左右的礁石、环礁、小岛、珊瑚砂和暗礁的竞争性主张不持立场。我们指出，涉及的各方应该和平解决争端。