新加坡副总理 TPP垮台将象征美国撤出亚太

Failure to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal would be a “major setback” for the standing of the US in Asia, Singapore’s deputy leader has said, underlining concerns in the region that America's Pacific pivot is in trouble.

新加坡副总理尚达曼（Tharman Shanmugaratnam，上图）表示，美国若不能批准《跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》(TPP)，其在亚洲的地位将遭受“重大挫折”。这番表态凸显出，该地区担心美国重返亚太战略正陷入困境。

America’s Asian allies fear the collapse of the deal will become an emblem of a US retreat from the Pacific.

美国的亚洲盟友们担心，TPP的垮台将成为美国从亚太撤退的象征。

Anxiety over China's mounting influence in Asia was compounded last week as the Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte announced his country’s “separation” from the US and warmer relations with Beijing.

随着菲律宾总统罗德里戈.杜特尔特(Rodrigo Duterte)上周宣布菲与美国“分离”并与北京方面改善关系，人们对中国在亚洲的影响力不断上升感到更加担心。

The 12-nation Pacific Rim trade pact has become a lightning rod for discontent over globalisation and a key issue in the US election, with both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump opposed to the deal. Chances of the trade deal receiving US congressional approval are now slim.

这份涵盖太平洋沿岸12国的贸易协定，已成为那些对全球化感到不满的人的出气筒，并成为美国大选中的一个关键话题。希拉里.克林顿(Hillary Clinton)和唐纳德.特朗普(Donald Trump)都对该协定持反对态度。目前，TPP在美国国会获批的希望很渺茫。

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s deputy prime minister, said: “TPP is not just about direct economic benefits. It’s about a reputation for openness and wanting to engage and deepen relationships for two-way benefit.”

尚达曼(Tharman Shanmugaratnam)表示：“TPP不仅关系到直接的经济好处，还关系到保持开放以及有意建立和加深互惠关系的声誉。”

In a sign of the heightened concern in Asia over this year’s electoral contest in the US, he added: “Calmer minds tend to prevail after the elections. This time, we can’t be so sure.”

他接着说：“选举过后，头脑更冷静的人通常会占据上风。但这一次，我们不能如此肯定。”这番话凸显了亚洲对今年美国大选的高度关注。

Singapore, a small economy that relies on external trade, is one of four original members of the Pacific trade grouping which led to the TPP deal. Its prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has described the TPP as a “litmus test” for US credibility in the region.

新加坡是一个依赖对外贸易的小型经济体，是TPP前身的四个创始会员国之一。新加坡总理李显龙(Lee Hsien Loong)将TPP称为美国在亚太地区信誉的一块“试金石”。