China dampened expectations of further sanctions on Iran on Thursday, telling other major powers that more pressure would not persuade Tehran to halt its nuclear program.
In contrast, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the UN Security Council the world should consider “far tougher sanctions” if Iran continues to seek a nuclear weapon.
Both countries signed a letter on Wednesday in which the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany told Iran to prepare a “serious response” by Thursday to demands that it halt its nuclear program, or face the consequences.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Britain, China, France, Russia and the US are the permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council.
“As evidence of its breach of international agreements grows, we must now consider far tougher sanctions together,” Brown told a council meeting on nuclear proliferation chaired by US President Barack Obama.
At the end of the two-hour session, council members unanimously approved a resolution calling for an end to the proliferation of atomic weapons, but did not name Iran or North Korea, which is also in a standoff over its nuclear program.
The US-drafted resolution called for further efforts to achieve “a world without nuclear weapons” and all urged countries to sign the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Obama said he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed this week that additional UN sanctions would be considered if Iran doesn’t respond to proposals to end the nuclear standoff.
“We’ll be particularly telling Iran it’s got a decision to make,” Brown told the BBC before the council meeting. “It can work with the international community. We can help it get civil nuclear power, but if it persists with this course, it’s going to be isolated from the whole international community.”
The West suspects Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Iran insists it is limited to the peaceful generation of electricity and has rejected Security Council demands that it suspend sensitive nuclear activities.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS