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Chirac Remains Determined to Lift EU Embargo on Arms Sales to China Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - While visiting Japan, French President Jacques Chirac has defended his push to lift a European Union arms embargo on China, disagreeing with his hosts on an issue that has contributed to diplomatic tensions between Japan and China. France and Germany are spearheading a campaign to end the E.U.'s 16-year-old ban on arms sales to Beijing by June, a drive that has been complicated by China's recent passage of a law permitting the use of force against Taiwan. Like the United States, Japan is concerned that lifting the embargo will upset the military balance in East Asia by enabling China to buy advanced weapons and technology it cannot source from its primary arms supplier, Russia. The likeliest target of any future Chinese military action is Taiwan, and the U.S. is committed by law to help the island democracy defend itself. Japan is Washington's closest ally in the region, and the two governments recently for the first time mentioned Taiwan in a joint security agreement, upsetting China, which sees its dispute with the island as a purely domestic affair. Japan and China are major trading partners, but relations are unsettled over issues including territorial disputes, foreign policy differences and unresolved resentments relating to Japan's wartime past. Japan is also worried about China's military buildup. Shortly before Chirac arrived in Tokyo, Japan's main government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda, said that E.U. arms sales to China would be "a big problem" for Asian stability. Speaking at a press conference after talks with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Chirac said he had given assurances to Japan that lifting the embargo was merely a political decision, not one that would lead to the export of "sensitive arms or technology" to China. E.U. consensus on lifting the arms ban has been splintering over the past fortnight as a result of strong U.S. opposition and China's "anti-secession" law, a Communist Party measure endorsed by Beijing's rubber-stamp parliament on March 14. The law authorizes the use of force to counter any move by Taiwan towards formal independence. Britain and other E.U. member-states are reported to be reconsidering the plan -- which all 25 member-states will need to approve -- but Chirac made it clear in Tokyo that proponents were pushing ahead, saying that "a decision has been made" to remove the embargo. Koizumi reiterated his government's opposition to the move, and a joint statement issued after the meeting reflected the differences, saying Japan believed that "there are a number of major uncertainties" in the regional security situation. In a development encouraged by the U.S., Japan has been moving towards a more outgoing security role in the region, following decades of pacifism mandated by its war-renouncing constitution. The changes include an agreement to cooperate with the U.S. in a ballistic missile defense (BMD) project, aimed at protecting the U.S. and its allies against missile attack by such rogue states as North Korea. China opposes the BMD plan. Wary of the shifts in Japan's defense outlook, China has been highlighting unresolved issues relating to World War II, which was the culmination of decades of Japanese aggression against its neighbors. Japanese school history textbooks failed to detail Japanese atrocities, Beijing's People's Daily charged Friday in a report that said the books had "greatly hurt the feeling of the Asian people." Chinese media have highlighted a petition being signed by Chinese signatories around the world, demanding that Japan come to terms with its wartime deeds before being considered for a permanent seat on an expanded U.N. Security Council -- a major policy goal for Koizumi. -- The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man. -- Albert Einstein ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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