US President George W. Bush voiced "deep concern" on Tuesday at European plans to lift a 15-year arms embargo on China, as it emerged the EU is drafting a plan to try to allay Washington's fears.
"There is deep concern in our country that a transfer of weapons would be a transfer of technology to China which would change the balance of relations in between China and Taiwan," Bush said.
Talks on the issue in Brussels with European leaders had been "constructive and open," he said, but signalled Washington might take punitive steps against the EU if it ends the ban.
Although he said he was open to EU efforts to draw up a plan to make lifting the 15-year-old embargo more palatable to Washington, he added skeptically: "Whether they can or not, we'll see."
The EU imposed the ban on military hardware exports after the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.
But now the EU wants to lift the embargo with an eye firmly on the booming Chinese economy.
In December, at an EU-China summit in The Hague, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) urged the scrapping of the embargo, calling it a relic of the Cold War.
EU leaders had indicated that the arms embargo was likely to be lifted under the bloc's current Luxembourg president, which ends in June.
But the US says this will give China access to high-tech military know-how and firepower that would threaten Taiwan.
A US Congress resolution passed earlier this month warned that lifting the ban would "place EU security policy in direct conflict with United States security interests and with the security interests of United States' friends and allies in the Asia and Pacific region."
It warned of "limitations and constraints" on government and industrial relations between the US and Europe if the ban is lifted.
French President Jacques Chirac said the ban "is no longer justified" but that it should be lifted "under conditions that Europe and the US define together."
The EU should avoid disagreement with the US over lifting the arms embargo against China while Europe is attempting a raproaochment with the US, Graham Watson, Chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament, was quoted by the Central News Agency (CNA) as saying.
A senior diplomat in Paris told CNA he expected the embargo against China to remain in place in "for a while" as a result of Bush's visit and his expressed concern.
Also see story:
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
COUNTER DISINFORMATION: More engagement and media literacy are needed to push back against misinformation and claims that the US is an unreliable partner, the AIT director said The US is “confident” that Taiwan does not face an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk told a US public radio show, adding that Washington remains committed to defensively arming the nation. She made the comment during an interview on All Things Considered, broadcast on Friday on US-based National Public Radio. “There is an important distinction between making plans and training troops, and getting ready to do something,” Oudkirk said, on whether she thinks Beijing plans to attack Taiwan in the near future. Chinese officials have told Washington that “their preference is for peaceful reunification,
EXPOSED: Some Taipei wardens reported joining the trips out of peer pressure, while others said they were relieved it was made public so they could refuse, a city councilor said Nearly 30 percent of Taipei borough wardens have joined group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government, leading prosecutors probing potential Chinese interference in January’s elections to question local officials, an investigation showed. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and Chen E-jun (陳怡君) have reported cases of Taipei borough wardens inviting residents to join inexpensive privately organized group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government. The six-day trips reportedly cost NT$10,000 to NT$15,000, the councilors said. An investigation by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that nearly 30 percent
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
RSS