Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) yesterday downplayed concern that the EU might lift its arms embargo on China or that the US might soften its opposition to removing the ban.
Yang made the remarks at the legislature’s Foreign and National Committee while fielding questions from lawmakers across party lines on whether Taiwan might be left out in the cold as the EU seeks to improve relations with China and the US needs Beijing’s cooperation to help defuse the crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
Yang said the embargo issue was brought up at the EU council meeting on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17, but it was just discussed “in passing” given a lack of consensus among EU member states.
“There were a few countries that have been pushing forward for the revocation of the arms embargo, but the idea hasn’t reverberated among [all EU member states]. That’s because there hasn’t been much improvement in China’s human rights records — a fact known to everyone,” Yang said.
The EU imposed an embargo on arms exports to China in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
After the Lisbon Treaty took effect, the EU defines and implements a common foreign and security policy that requires unanimity among all 27 member states for the ban to be lifted.
Given that China continues to hold some 1989 democracy protesters and has refused to release last year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波), the conditions for the EU to consider lifting the arms embargo, which was imposed in protest against China’s human rights record, are far from amenable, Yang said.
US and Japanese concern over the issue further complicates the possibility of the EU lifting the ban, Yang added.
Since the US and Japan have expressed strong opposition to the initiative suggested by a few EU countries, the EU as a whole will take into consideration how the military balance in East Asia would be affected if it were to lift the ban, Yang said.
KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-min (帥化民) disagreed, saying the EU would resume arms sales to China given the fragile state of its economy.
Shuai told Deputy Minister of National Defense Chao Shih-chang (趙世璋) that the ministry should sort out the nation’s priority in procuring weapons and be prepared to begin talks with the EU on the matter.
Yang also dismissed concerns that the US would sacrifice Taiwan’s interests to gain China’s support on dealing with North Korea by softening its opposition to the EU lifting the arms ban.
“If the embargo is lifted, it will exacerbate the military imbalance across the Strait. Although it would be easier for the US to tackle the North Korea issue if it has China’s cooperation, [Washington] knows very well that North Korea does not always listen to China, ” Yang said.
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