EU Arms Embargo
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Europe Urges Linking Lifting of Chinese Arms Ban to Rights
(NYT, Apr. 15, 2005) Europe seemed farther away than ever from lifting its
16-year-old arms embargo on China, after statements by the German foreign
minister and a vote in the European Parliament, both of which urged linking
the embargo question to human rights.
China Criticizes EU for Reconsidering Plan to Lift Arms Embargo (Bloomberg, Mar. 23, 2005) China criticized the European Union for
reconsidering a plan to lift a 15-year-old arms embargo because China passed
a law that would authorize war against Taiwan should the island declare
independence.
European Union
Said to Keep Embargo on Arms to China
(NYT, Mar. 22, 2005) Yielding to pressure from President Bush and threats of
retaliation from Congress, the European Union has put off plans to lift its
arms embargo on China
this spring and may not press the issue until next year.
Rice Warns
against China Expanding
Its Military with EU Technology (AFP, Mar.
20, 2005) US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said European weapons technology should not be used by
China
to expand its military as she again warned against the lifting of an EU arms
embargo to the communist country.
U.S. Lawmakers Warn Europe on
Arms Sales to China
(NYT, Mar. 2, 2005) Senior members of Congress from both parties emerged from
a meeting with President Bush warning Europe that if it lifts its ban on arms
sales to China, the United States
may retaliate with severe restrictions on technology sales to European
companies.
MOFA Says It
Welcomes E.U. to Play Bigger Role in Cross-Strait (CNA, Feb. 8, 2005)
Taiwan welcomes the European Union to play a bigger role in cross-Taiwan
Strait issues and hopes that the international community can voice its
opposition to Beijing's proposed "anti-secession" law.
EU Not Lifting China
Arms Embargo
(Straits Times, Dec. 9, 2004) China
was dealt a blow when the European Union reiterated it was not ready to lift
a 15-year weapons embargo against it. But EU officials expressed hope that
the ban may be lifted next year.

China Warrants an Arms Embargo
(Editorial, New York Times, Mar. 28, 2005) It is hard to imagine what China's leaders figured they had to gain by
pushing through a law authorizing an attack on Taiwan if it moves toward formal
independence.
Europe's Shift on Embargo Places Taiwan at Center Stage By Joseph Kahn (New York Times, Mar. 23, 2005)
Reports of a shift in European plans to lift an arms embargo on China have
sent a sobering message to China's new leadership, underscoring the
sensitivity of its Taiwan policy and the continued dominance of the United
States.
Why the EU Arms Embargo Should Stay By Steve Tsang
(Far Eastern Economic Review, March 2005) Lifting the arms embargo against China, imposed by the European Union in 1989,
is an important issue that goes beyond how the EU should handle its relations
with China.
Selling Arms to China: If Europe Has To Do It, Here's How By Philip H. Gordon and James B. Steinberg (IHT, Mar. 18, 2005)
On many U.S.-European policy differences, whether in the Middle East or Iraq,
Americans themselves are divided, and many even share the European view. But
on selling arms to China, U.S. public
and political opinion is united.
US Attitude to Beijing Seems To Be Changing By Jiang Wenran
(Taipei
Times, Mar. 11, 2005) Lost in the debates about whether the EU should lift
its arms export embargo on China is a much broader and more pressing
question: Does the White House once again see China as a strategic
competitor?
Upsetting Asia's Delicate Balance By Michael Elliott
(Time Asia, Mar. 7, 2005) The security of Taiwan, however, does not seem to
have entered into European calculations. Though Europeans seem blithely
unaware of it, the strategic balance in East Asia
is extraordinarily fragile.
Europe Wants China Sales but Not Just of Weapons By Mark Landler (New York Times, Feb.
24, 2005) Much more is at stake in Europe's decision than whether it sells
French fighter jets or German submarines to Beijing - namely broader commercial ties
and some genuine diplomacy.
Bush Says Europe Should Not Lift Its China Arms Embargo
(New York Times, Feb. 23, 2005) A simmering dispute with Europe came to the forefront
when President Bush said there was "deep concern" in the United
States that lifting the European Union's arms embargo against China would
change the balance of relations between China and Taiwan.
Don't Lift the
Arms Embargo on China By David Shambaugh
(International Herald Tribune, Feb. 23, 2005) China
will just have to live with it until it comes to terms with Tiananmen and
stops putting military pressure on Taiwan.
An Arms Cornucopia For China? By John Rossant
(BusinessWeek, Feb. 21, 2005) Europe will
probably lift its embargo, but companies will be careful what they sell. All of the European defense contractors want more business in the U.S., and
they are starting to get it.
Europa: EU vs. U.S. vs. China: Partnership Paradoxes By Richard Bernstein (International
Herald Tribune, Jan. 21, 2005) Probably the next big strategic difference
between Europe and the United States- China,
which, in the official European view is a "strategic partner," even
as Chinese-American rivalry looms.
US Fury over EU Weapons for China By Anton La Guardia
(Telegraph, Jan. 15, 2005) America
is waging an intense behind-the-scenes battle to stop the European Union
lifting its 15-year-old arms embargo against China.
Taiwan Nervous about Possible End
of EU Arms Embargo for China (AP, Oct. 3, 2004) The Taiwanese
argue that dropping the ban would shake up the delicate military balance in
Asia and increase the threat of war with Taiwan.
Europe Dragged into Cross-Strait
Dispute By Jonathan Eyal
(Straits Times, July 11, 2004) Both by accident and design, the 'old
continent' is caught up in the China-Taiwan saga. Unlike the US, however, Europe never had much influence
over either China or Taiwan.
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