2016年6月17日，驻澳大利亚大使成竞业在澳主流媒体《西澳人报》发表署名文章《中国始终致力于谈判解决南海争议》。全文如下：
On June 17, 2016, The West Australian published a signed article titled ‘China Seeks Peaceful Solution to Sea Dispute’ by Chinese Ambassador to Australia CHENG Jingye. The full text is as follows:
中国始终致力于谈判解决南海争议
China Seeks Peaceful Solution to Sea Dispute
近来，不少人士都十分关注南海问题和中国的立场。尽管这是一个涉及领土主权的复杂问题，中国政府始终致力于寻求谈判解决。
The issue of the South China Sea has attracted a lot of recent attention. Though this is a complicated issue concerning territorial sovereignty, China remains committed to a negotiated solution.
中国对南海诸岛及其附近海域拥有无可争辩的主权。这是在长期的历史中形成的。中国人最早发现这些岛屿，并通过不同形式持续对其行使主权管辖。第二次世界大战期间，南沙群岛部分岛礁被日本侵占。战后，中国根据《开罗宣言》和《波茨坦公告》等国际文件收复了这些岛礁。此后数十年，南海诸岛属于中国是国际社会普遍认知。
China’s indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters has long been established. As the first to discover the islands, China has exercised sovereign jurisdiction over them through various means. During World War II, Japan illegally seized some parts of the islands. After the war, China recovered those islands in accordance with the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. For several decades afterwards, it was widely acknowledged by the international community that the South China Sea islands belong to China.
南海争议的产生，源于南海周边一些国家自20世纪70年代起陆续非法侵占中国南沙群岛部分岛礁。然而，从地区和平稳定大局出发，中方一直保持高度克制。中国在坚持主权立场的同时，提出了“搁置争议，共同开发”的主张，并积极寻求与东盟国家探讨管控分歧的有效途径。
The root cause of South China Sea disputes originated in the 1970s when some countries around the South China Sea began to occupy illegally part of China’s Nansha islands and reefs. In the interests of peace and stability in the region, China has exercised the utmost restraint.While adhering to its position of upholding sovereignty over the islands, China put forward the proposal of “shelving differences and engaging in common development”. China has had active discussions with ASEAN countries for an effective way to manage the disputes.
在各方共同努力下，中国与东盟十国于2002年签订了《南海各方行为宣言》。各方承诺由直接有关的当事国通过友好磋商和谈判，以和平方式解决有关争议。2013年9月起，中国与东盟国家正式启动“南海行为准则”磋商，取得了不少积极成果。在刚刚举行的中国—东盟外长特别会上，中国和东盟国家确认全面、有效、完整地落实《宣言》，积极推进“准则”磋商，并在协商一致基础上早日达成。
With concerted efforts, China and the 10 ASEAN countries signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002. In the DOC, all relevant parties undertook to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means through friendly consultations and negotiations by countries directly concerned.In September 2013, China and ASEAN countries launched consultations for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), and they have made significant progress. During the recent Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, China and ASEAN countries, by reaffirming their commitment to a full, effective and comprehensive implementation of the DOC, agreed to advance the process of COC consultations with a view to reaching an early conclusion based on consensus.
通过谈判协商解决领土争议和海洋权益重叠争议，是中国的一贯主张。在过去的几十年间，正是遵循这一方式，中国与14个陆地邻国中的12个解决了边界问题，划定的边界线达20000公里。此外，中国还和越南划定了两国在北部湾的海上界线。上述事实充分表明，通过双边谈判解决领土争议问题，是中国政府坚定不移的选择，也是被实践证明的有效途径。
It is China’s consistent policy to settle territorial and maritime entitlement disputes through negotiations and consultations. In this spirit, China has solved boundary issues with 12 out of its 14 land neighbors in the past decades, with about 20,000 kilometres of borderlines delineated.In addition, China and Vietnam have set the maritime boundary in the Beibu Gulf. These remarkable achievements fully demonstrate that bilateral negotiations and consultations are an effective means to solve territorial disputes. The Chinese Government will continue to adopt this approach.
上世纪90年代中期，中国与菲律宾就谈判解决南海争议达成共识。此后双方在一系列正式双边文件中都确认了这一共识，包括2011年9月两国发表的联合声明。令人遗憾的是，菲方不顾与中方达成的上述共识，于2013年初单方面就中菲南海有关争议提起仲裁。菲方这一做法也违反了《宣言》的规定。中方对此当然不接受、也不参与。尽管如此，中方对话的大门始终是敞开的，将继续坚持通过谈判同菲方解决南海有关争议。
In the mid-1990s, China and the Philippines reached a clear agreement on settling their disputes in the South China Sea through negotiation. This has been reaffirmed in many other bilateral documents since then, including the joint statement the two countries issued in September 2011.However, in total disregard of this agreement, the Philippines unilaterally initiated arbitration against China on the South China Sea dispute in early 2013. Such a move again goes against the provisions of the DOC. China has every right not to accept or participate in the arbitration. In spite of all this, the door of dialogue is always open. China is committed to resolving the disputes through negotiation with the Philippines.
南海是重要的国际海运通道。作为南海周边最大的国家和世界上最大的货物贸易国，中国80%的贸易量通过南海海域。中国高度重视南海的和平与稳定，愿同有关各方一道，继续坚定维护各国依据国际法享有的南海航行和飞越自由，但坚决反对任何国家借航行自由之名，采取加剧地区紧张形势的挑衅行动。
The South China Sea is an important shipping lane. As the largest country around the South China Sea and the world’s biggest trading nation in goods, China has a high stake in the South China Sea with 80 per cent of its total trade traversing the area. Peace and stability in the South China Sea are critical to China. It stands ready to work with other parties concerned to safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea which all countries are entitled to in accordance with international law.On the other hand, China remains firmly opposed to any provocative acts to ratchet up tension under the cover of navigation freedom.
