President Bush will bring up the European Union's plan to lift its arms embargo to China during his trip to Europe next week, and expects to find a solution to US objections to the move that is "acceptable" to both sides, Bush's new national security advisor, Stephen Hadley said.
At a Washington press briefing in advance of the president's trip, Hadley said Bush has "real concerns" about the EU's intention to lift the arms sales ban.
"He will share those concerns with the Europeans," he said. "They will obviously have a chance to express their views. And he will listen."
Regarding the likely result of the discussions, Hadley said, "since we have a basic common set of overall objectives, I think we'll find a way forward that will be acceptable," he said.
He added that differences between the US and EU on the arms embargo issue "will be approached in a very constructive way."
The comments were in line with those made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her recent trip to Europe, in which she refrained from publicly expressing opposition to the lifting of the embargo, but instead stressed common US-EU interests in other aspects of their relations with China.
During that trip, Rice stressed that both sides were listening to each other in an effort to understand each other's position. She also said that both sides would hold more negotiations on the issue in coming months.
Since his re-election last November, Bush and his administration have been trying to mend fences with the major European powers, after his administration's dismissive stance toward them during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq strained transatlantic relations.
During her trip, Rice concentrated on Iran and North Korea. The administration is seeking to gain European acceptance of its harder-line views on both countries, despite European scepticism.
The China arms embargo issue has taken a back seat to those US priorities. But the US argues that European arms sales to China would give Beijing sophisticated weaponry that could conceivably be used against US forces in a showdown over Taiwan.
Bush will begin his five-day trip to Europe tomorrow with a stop in Brussels, the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the EU commission. There, he will meet with French President Jacques Chirac, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other European leaders and officials.
On Wednesday, he heads to Germany for a meeting with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, leaving for the Slovak Republic later that day.
There he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday afternoon, before returning to Washington.
It will be Bush's first trip to Europe since his reelection in November. In his press briefing on the trip, Hadley was effusive in describing US-European ties, despite the deep strains that marked Bush's first term as president. The trip "provides a great opportunity for the president to meet with some of America's oldest and closest friends and allies," Hadley said.
"It's also an opportunity ... to affirm the importance of the transatlantic link for dealing with the challenges that America and Europe both face," he said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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