Beijing's toughening line on Taiwan gives ammunition to the US in its bid to stop the EU lifting its arms embargo on China, analysts said Monday.
China's National People's Congress earlier adopted an "anti-secession" law which gives its military a "legal" basis to attack Taiwan if the country moves towards independence.
Washington described the move as "unfortunate," while the French foreign ministry said that EU countries were consulting about how to react.
"The Americans will take this opportunity to recall their opposition to a lifting of the EU arms embargo on China," said Adam Ward of the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.
In December, the 25 EU heads of government restated their intention of lifting the ban, which was put in place after the crackdown on the democracy movement in the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre.
Last month US President George W. Bush used his European tour to put on record his opposition to a lifting of the embargo -- a position shared by the US Congress.
"China's move will give arguments to the United States which can now say -- look, there is another reason not to lift the embargo. There is a new proof that China is a threat to Taiwan," said Jean-Vincent Brisset of the Paris-based Institute for International and Strategic Relations.
"The US thinks lifting the embargo would be a blunder on many levels -- because of the human rights situation which still exists in China and in terms of the political signals it would send to Beijing on Taiwan," Ward said.
"There is a unique degree of unanimity in the US on this. They believe the risk of a conflict in the Taiwan Straits is not negligible," he added.
The Europeans see an end to the embargo as a chance to penetrate new parts of the Chinese market and to boost their sales of non-military goods, according to Brisset.
"The Europeans have their eye on the great Chinese market. As for the Chinese, they say: as long as you do not sell us arms, we will not buy your Airbus," Brisset said.
"But the Europeans do not realize what they are doing. Because the Chinese buy very little. They buy samples and manufacture their own counterfeits," he said.
For Yiyi Lu of the British research center Chatham House, "The Americans will of course bring the Chinese vote up at their discussions with the Europeans. They will say it is a new threat."
But the vote "will change little" because it was not a surprise, she said. Brisset agreed.
"This is nothing really new," he said, pointing out that the Chinese Communist party has repeatedly threatened to use force against democratic Taiwan.
Congratulations to China’s working class — they have officially entered the “Livestock Feed 2.0” era. While others are still researching how to achieve healthy and balanced diets, China has already evolved to the point where it does not matter whether you are actually eating food, as long as you can swallow it. There is no need for cooking, chewing or making decisions — just tear open a package, add some hot water and in a short three minutes you have something that can keep you alive for at least another six hours. This is not science fiction — it is reality.
A foreign colleague of mine asked me recently, “What is a safe distance from potential People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force’s (PLARF) Taiwan targets?” This article will answer this question and help people living in Taiwan have a deeper understanding of the threat. Why is it important to understand PLA/PLARF targeting strategy? According to RAND analysis, the PLA’s “systems destruction warfare” focuses on crippling an adversary’s operational system by targeting its networks, especially leadership, command and control (C2) nodes, sensors, and information hubs. Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, noted in his 15 May 2025 Sedona Forum keynote speech that, as
In a world increasingly defined by unpredictability, two actors stand out as islands of stability: Europe and Taiwan. One, a sprawling union of democracies, but under immense pressure, grappling with a geopolitical reality it was not originally designed for. The other, a vibrant, resilient democracy thriving as a technological global leader, but living under a growing existential threat. In response to rising uncertainties, they are both seeking resilience and learning to better position themselves. It is now time they recognize each other not just as partners of convenience, but as strategic and indispensable lifelines. The US, long seen as the anchor
Kinmen County’s political geography is provocative in and of itself. A pair of islets running up abreast the Chinese mainland, just 20 minutes by ferry from the Chinese city of Xiamen, Kinmen remains under the Taiwanese government’s control, after China’s failed invasion attempt in 1949. The provocative nature of Kinmen’s existence, along with the Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou City, has led to no shortage of outrageous takes and analyses in foreign media either fearmongering of a Chinese invasion or using these accidents of history to somehow understand Taiwan. Every few months a foreign reporter goes to
RSS