British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, whose country holds the EU presidency in the second half of this year, said on Thursday that there is little chance of the EU lifting its ban on arms sales to China.
Straw said there was still considerable opposition in Europe, given China's human-rights record and tension between China and Taiwan.
"That is reflected in a series of resolutions in the European Parliament. So that is the difficulty at the moment," he told a group of journalists from across the EU.
The EU embargo was imposed after the Chinese military crushed student protests at Tiananmen Square in June 1989.
EU nations have been debating an end to the measure for several years and Straw's comment indicated the issue will not be settled soon.
Britain assumed the EU presidency yesterday. As such, it will set the EU agenda for the rest of the year and is unlikely to lobby for a lifting of the ban. Britain, along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, is most opposed to lifting the ban because of China's shaky human-rights record and Beijing's strident language in its dealing with Taiwan.
London is also wary of aggravating trans-Atlantic ties. The US has voiced concern about an end to the European arms ban, especially after China adopted the "Anti-Secession" Law recently authorizing military action against Taiwan.
Washington fears sales of high-tech arms to China's rapidly modernizing People's Liberation Army, the world's largest military by troop numbers, could increase its abilities to threaten US allies in Asia, including Japan and Taiwan, as well as its nearly 230,000 troops in the region.
Responding to such concerns, the EU is beefing up a code of conduct to govern eventual arms sales to China by the bloc's 25 member states.
"My guess is that there is still no consensus" to end the ban, Straw said.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS