A new Pentagon report to Congress puts the spotlight on the U.S. military's critical dependence on materials known as rare-earth metals and recommends alternatives to Chinese sources of supply.

　　美國國防部新近提交給國會的一份報告使人得以一窺美國軍方對稀土的嚴重依賴，報告建議開發(fā)中國以外的稀土供應(yīng)源。

　　The report, an annual assessment of the health of the U.S. military's manufacturing base, features a section that focuses on a potential Achilles' heel for the U.S. military: its reliance on rare-earth metals for manufacturing high-end weaponry.

　　這份對美國軍用制造業(yè)基礎(chǔ)的年度評估報告專門用一個章節(jié)來重點討論美軍的致命弱點：美國在制造高端武器方面對稀土金屬的依賴。

　　At issue is a group of 17 elements with unique magnetic properties that are vital to 21st-century consumer technology, found in everything from smartphones to hybrid car batteries.

　　稀土是對17種金屬元素的統(tǒng)稱，這些金屬有獨特的磁性，從智能電話到混合動力汽車的電池，21世紀幾乎所以的消費品技術(shù)都離不開稀土。

　　The elements are also essential to modern warfare. High-end weapons such as precision-guided bombs and advanced fighter aircraft depend on components built with rare-earth magnets, as do night-vision goggles and targeting lasers.

　　稀土對現(xiàn)代戰(zhàn)爭也起著重要作用，精確制導(dǎo)炸彈和先進戰(zhàn)斗機等高端武器都要依賴需用到稀土磁鐵的零部件，夜視鏡和鎖定目標的激光器也是這樣。

　　China produces more than 95% of the world's rare-earth oxides, and the country's near-monopoly in mining and processing them has raised alarms in Washington, particularly following Beijing's moves last year to impose export quotas on them.

　　中國出產(chǎn)全世界95%以上的稀土氧化物，中國在稀土的開采和加工方面占據(jù)著近乎壟斷的地位，這給華盛頓拉響了警報，在中國政府去年開始對稀土出口實施配額限制以后，美國政府尤其提高了警覺。

　　'It is essential that a stable non-Chinese source of REO [rare earth oxides] be established so that the U.S. RE supply chain is no longer solely dependent on China's RE exports,' the report, made public Tuesday, states.

　　本周二對外公布的這份報告強調(diào)說：重要的是要開辟一個中國以外的穩(wěn)定的稀土氧化物供應(yīng)源，這樣美國的稀土供應(yīng)鏈才能不再完全依賴中國的稀土出口。

　　Last year, the Defense Department launched a comprehensive study to examine the potential national-security vulnerabilities of U.S. rare-earth material dependency. That study hasn't been released to the public. But this latest report shows that the Pentagon has launched an effort to identify U.S. companies that could process rare-earth oxides into metals. It also says defense agencies have studied the risk of potential supply disruptions.

　　去年，美國國防部曾就美國對稀土的依賴給美國國家安全造成的潛在弱點進行了一次廣泛評估。這一研究報告一直未向公眾公布。但國防部周二最新公布的這份報告顯示，五角大樓已開始著手找出哪些美國公司有可能會將稀土氧化物加工成稀土金屬。報告還說，美國的國防部門已經(jīng)研究了如果稀土供應(yīng)中斷會造成哪些風(fēng)險。