SACHI KITAJIMA MULKEY2026年4月24日2017年，中国载人潜水器在南中国海进行海底矿产资源勘探。 Liu Shiping/Xinhua, via AlamyA research arm of the Chinese government said it had published an atlas of deep-sea mineral deposits, highlighting Beijing’s ambitions to mine the ocean floor and underscoring its disputed claims to waters that neighboring nations consider theirs.中国政府的一个研究机构表示，已发布一本深海沉积物分布图集，此举既凸显了北京开发海底资源的雄心，也再次强化了其对一些周边国家视为本国海域的争议性主张。Experts say the maps, in addition to pinpointing mineral deposits found in the deep ocean, give China’s military a thorough understanding of the seafloor in strategically important waters, providing an advantage if submarine warfare were to break out.专家表示，这些地图除了标明深海沉积物的位置外，还能让中国军方在具有重要战略意义的海域全面了解海底的情况，一旦发生潜艇战，将为其带来优势。The announcement this month by the China Geological Survey puts pressure on other countries that have been ramping up their own seabed mining efforts, in part to reduce their dependence on China for critical minerals and rare earth elements. Ocean sediments are rich in valuable resources including cobalt, nickel, and manganese.中国地质调查局本月发布的这一消息给其他国家带来了压力——这些国家正在加紧推进海底采矿，一部分原因是希望减少对中国在关键矿产和稀土方面的依赖。海洋沉积物中富含钴、镍、锰等宝贵资源。“China is pouring enormous resources in an effort to emerge as a world-leading oceanographic power,” said Bruce Jones, a naval affairs and foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution. The United States historically dominated in ocean-science fields, he said. Now, China is closing the gap, increasing China’s military capabilities and equipping it with the knowledge needed to fight underwater, Dr. Jones said.布鲁金斯学会的海军事务与外交政策专家布鲁斯·琼斯表示，“中国正在投入大量资源，努力成为世界领先的海洋强国”。他说，美国在海洋科学领域曾长期占据主导地位。如今，中国正在缩小差距，这不仅增强了它的军事能力，也为其水下作战提供了必要的知识储备。With mapping of this nature, “you can use it for science, and you can use it for warfare,” Dr. Jones said. “It’s a rare-earth play, it’s a scientific play, and it’s a strategic play all at once,” he said.琼斯博士说，这种性质的海底测绘，“你可以用于科学，也可以用于战争”。他表示，“它同时涉及稀土资源、科学研究以及战略布局。”The atlas, according to materials published on the China Geological Survey website, maps the locations and concentrations of dozens of resources, drawing from two decades of research and samplings at more than 10,000 locations. The China Geological Survey said the atlas included the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, where China claims territory that neighboring nations consider theirs.根据中国地质调查局网站发布的材料，这本图集标示了数十种资源的位置分布和储量情况，利用了过去20年的研究成果以及在1万多个地点采集的样本。中国地质调查局表示，该图集涵盖东海和黄海，而中国在这些海域的领土主张与邻国存在冲突。China controls most of the world’s supply of key critical metals and rare earths, which are essential ingredients in modern weapons and technologies, and the Chinese government recently approved a five-year plan that lists the development of deep-sea minerals a priority. China has used its dominance to political ends, for example by restricting exports to the United States and Japan during disputes with those countries.中国控制着全球大部分关键金属和稀土资源的供应，这些都是现代武器和技术不可或缺的原材料。中国政府最近还批准了一项五年规划，将深海矿产的开发列为优先事项。中国将这种主导地位用于政治目的，例如在与美国和日本发生争端时，限制对这两国的出口。Japan is developing its own seabed mining program, in part to reduce its reliance on Chinese supplies. In February, the government said it had successfully retrieved mud rich in rare earths from depths of more than 6,000 meters, an achievement that Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, hailed as a “world’s first.” Japan and the United States have made commitments to support each others’ seabed mining projects.日本正在发展自己的海底采矿项目，部分原因是为了减少对中国的依赖。今年2月，日本政府表示已成功从6000多米深的海底采集到富含稀土的泥浆，日本首相高市早苗称赞这一成就为“世界首创”。日本和美国还承诺相互支持彼此的海底采矿项目。The Trump administration has made seabed mining a priority. It hopes to issue mining leases near Pacific Ocean territories like American Samoa. It is also plans to permit commercial mining outside of U.S. territorial waters without international approval.特朗普政府已将海底采矿列为优先事项，希望发放美属萨摩亚等太平洋领地附近的采矿许可。同时，它还计划在未经国际批准的情况下允许在美国领海以外的海域进行商业采矿。China’s mining atlas has strategic importance in bolstering its claim for disputed waters, according to Yun Sun, who leads a Chinese foreign policy program at the Stimson Center, a foreign affairs research organization in Washington.华盛顿外交政策研究机构史汀生中心的中国外交政策项目负责人孙韵表示，中国这份深海矿产地图集在强化其对争议海域的主权主张方面具有战略意义。There are a number of international law customs that determine national boundaries. Consistently occupying and managing a territory can strengthen a country’s claim to it.确定国家边界有许多国际法惯例。持续占领和管理某片领土可以增强一国对该领土的主权主张。That means nonmilitary actions, like science and conservation, can be used to exert authority over an area, Dr. Sun said. Publicly announcing the atlas could be interpreted as China making a statement that it commands this maritime domain.孙韵表示，这意味着一些非军事行动（如科学研究和环境保护）也可以用于对某片区域行使权力。公开该地图集可以解读为中国在宣示其对相关海域的管辖权。Chinese deep-sea exploration ships have been spotted in the territorial waters of other countries, such as near the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. China has also reportedly tested seabed mining equipment in waters that Taiwan and the Philippines claim.中国的深海勘探船曾被发现在其他国家的领海活动，例如阿拉斯加阿留申群岛附近。据报道，中国还在台湾和菲律宾声称拥有主权的海域测试过海底采矿设备。Detailed mapping also helps countries claim additional seafloor, said Larry Mayer, director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire.新罕布什尔大学海岸与海洋测绘中心主任拉里·迈耶表示，详细的测绘还能帮助各国争取更多海底区域的主张。The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea sets a boundary of 200 nautical miles from a nation’s coastline as an “exclusive economic zone” where it has special rights over resources, but a country can claim more seabed if it can prove that its continental shelf extends beyond this zone.《联合国海洋法公约》规定，各国海岸线向外延伸200海里为“专属经济区”，在该范围内拥有资源开发的特殊权利。但如果一个国家能够证明其大陆架延伸超过这一范围，就可以对更多海底区域提出主张。This has been a significant driver of ocean exploration efforts, Dr. Mayer said. In 2023, the United States made public detailed maps made over the previous decade claiming about 380,000 square miles of expanded continental shelf, including in the Arctic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.迈耶指出，这已成为推动海洋勘探活动的重要动力。2023年，美国公布了过去十年绘制的详细地图，声索了约100万平方公里的延伸大陆架，涉及北极、墨西哥湾以及大西洋和太平洋部分海域。China has also presented proposals to the United Nations to extend its claim to the continental shelf, based on geological map evidence, drawing borders that Japan disputes as overlapping with its exclusive economic zone.中国也曾向联合国提交提案，基于地质测绘证据，试图扩大其大陆架主张范围，其划定的边界与日本的专属经济区发生重叠，引发日方争议。In the South China Sea (which the atlas does not cover), China has redrawn boundaries in waters also claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines and has taken other steps, including building artificial islands, to support its claims.在南中国海（该地图集未涵盖这片海域），中国重新划定了台湾、越南和菲律宾同样声称拥有主权的海域边界，并采取了包括建造人工岛在内的其他措施来支持其主张。Seabed mining is controversial. Critics say not enough is known about deep-sea environments to safely mine them. Research shows that mining would reduce the abundance of deep-sea animals and that ecosystems are slow to recover. Numerous countries as well as environmental organizations have called for moratoriums or an industry ban.海底采矿本身也存在争议。批评者认为，类对深海环境的了解尚不足以安全地进行采矿。研究显示，采矿活动会减少深海生物数量，而海洋生态系统的恢复速度非常缓慢。许多国家和环保组织呼吁暂停甚至禁止这一行业。储百亮(Chris Buckley)对本文有报道贡献。Sachi Kitajima Mulkey为时报报道气候和环境议题。翻译：纽约时报中文网点击查看本文英文版。