The Hindu : International : U.S. frowns on E.U. move to lift arms embargo against China

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Sunday, Jan 16, 2005

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International

U.S. frowns on E.U. move to lift arms embargo against China

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JAN. 15. A quiet trans-Atlantic row is reported to be simmering over an European Union move to lift its 15-year-old ban on arms sales to China.

Media reports on Saturday said that America was "alarmed'' at the prospect and had told Britain not to "cave in'' to the German and French campaign which, Washington feared, could threaten its own strategic interests in the region.

The controversy erupted as the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, prepared to visit China next week in a sign of increasingly closer relations with Beijing. The E.U. proposal to lift the arms embargo was reported to be high on the agenda during his talks with Chinese leaders, and observers noted that the fact that Britain was due take over the rotating presidency of the E.U. later this year made its role crucial.

Mr. Straw has already indicated that the ban could be lifted by June, but before that happens Britain wants the E.U.'s code of conduct on arms exports to be tightened further to prevent misuse of weapons by a recipient country. The revised code would also make arms sales by E.U. countries more transparent by requiring them to share details of sales with other member-nations.

"Britain is not opposed to lifting the embargo but wants it `done properly' in ways that would prevent E.U. states being played off against each other in the lucrative Chinese military market— or jeopardise the stability of the region,'' a report in The Guardian said.

But, according to The Daily Telegraph, America was "deeply sceptical'' of such assurances and the newspaper quoted "well-placed sources'' as saying that the issue could "explode into a new trans-Atlantic row, more bitter even than the dispute over Iraq.''

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