Wed, Mar 23, 2005 page1

• EU feels heat on embargo

  LETHAL WEAPONS The Chinese are protesting, but it seems US pressure is beginning to have an effect on European governments keen to sell China weaponry

  • AFP AND AP
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  European allies are reconsidering the lifting of the EU arms embargo on China under stiff pressure from the Bush administration and in reaction to the "Anti-Secession" Law.

  At a minimum, a European diplomat said on Monday that equipment such as night-vision goggles and submarine technology would not be sold.

  Europeans have discussed a "code of conduct" designed to keep the most dangerous weapons out of China's hands.

  The Bush administration, in a long-public spat with its allies, has argued that the weapons could be turned against Taiwan.

  On Sunday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the allies they "should do nothing" that alters the military balance of power in Asia through the sale of sophisticated weapons.

  The Europeans had countered with an offer to put certain weapons out of China's reach, but even so, the European diplomat told reporters over lunch that the allies had taken no final decision to proceed with arms sales.

  Speaking on condition he not be not be identified by name or country, he asserted the Europeans had a right to sell non-lethal weapons and so-called dual-use equipment -- capable of civilian and military uses -- to China.

  Clarification of the latest European position was expected to come from the European Council in Brussels as early as yesterday.

  European leaders have expressed concern about Beijing's adoption of the law, which authorizes the use of force against Taiwan if the nation moves toward independence.

  British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on the weekend that the law had "created quite a difficult political environment," and the Financial Times reported yesterday that London was seeking support from other EU governments to delay a decision on removing the ban, possibly until next year.

  EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after talks with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (李肇興) in Brussels last week that the law had thrown up "complicated atmospherics" in the debate.

  Meanwhile, China said yesterday that any delay to the lifting of the embargo because of the Anti-Secession Law was "unreasonable."

  "I think there is no link between China's wish to push for the EU's lifting of the embargo and the passing of the Anti-Secession Law. Linking these two issues is unreasonable," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (劉建超) said.

  "I want to reiterate here that it isn't a war-mobilizing law. The law is conducive towards the peace and stability across the Strait," he said at a regular briefing.

  "We hope the concerned parties would gain a complete and accurate understanding of the purpose and the content of the legislation," he said.

  Rice argued on Monday in Beijing that lifting the embargo could alter the military balance in Asia and would send "the wrong signal" to Beijing.

  US lawmakers have threatened to levy punitive trade sanctions on European companies if the 25-nation bloc goes ahead with the move.

  Liu repeated China's position that the embargo, imposed after Beijing's bloody crushing of democracy protesters in 1989, was outdated.

  "The arms embargo is political discrimination and was outdated long ago. We hope the EU will make a decision on the lifting of the embargo as soon as possible," he said.
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