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Koizumi warns EU over lifting ban on arms sales to China

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday underlined Tokyo's concern over the EU's plans to lift an arms embargo on China at a summit with European leaders in Luxembourg, while in Manila, Japan's defense minister agreed to expand cooperation with the Philippines.

The EU's presidency insisted that ending the 16-year-old ban, slapped on Beijing after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, would not threaten security in the region.

Koizumi, speaking after the talks, said he believed the 25-member bloc understands Tokyo's opposition to the plans.

"I did express our concern and I think ... Japan's concern is very well understood," he said in a joint press conference with EU leaders including EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

He added that the EU had made clear to him that, "while fully understanding the concerns of Japan, [it] should like to deal with the matter so that it would not lead to a problem."

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, reiterated that the bloc hopes to reach an agreement on lifting the plan by the end of June.

But he also underlined that a lifting of the arms embargo would have "no material consequences" -- an apparent reference to any increase in arms sales to China.

"We are in the process of discussing the subject with our closest partners, that means Japan [and] the United States," he said. "We take very seriously the observations made by both Japan and the US.

"The intention of the EU if it reaches an accord on lifting the embargo is not to develop arms exports to China in a way that would [increase] the security concerns regularly mentioned by our partners," he said.

In Manila, defense ministers from the Philippines and Japan agreed to expand cooperation, especially in the areas of maritime security, disaster management and counter-terrorism.

Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and visiting Japanese Defense Minister Yoshinori Ohno also agreed to develop a mechanism wherein they can meet annually to discuss security issues.

"The first step is to develop a mechanism for an annual continuation of the political security dialogue and the frequency of the exchange of visits between senior and middle level officers," Cruz said after meeting with Ohno who was in Manila for an overnight visit.
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