The European Union is considering lifting its arms embargo
The European Union is considering lifting its arms embargo
against China, which has been in place since the Tiananmen Square
incident in 1989, next year. We are very concerned about this.
It would mean even more of a headache for Japan, as it would
present a serious security problem for the nation.
Over the past year, China has been making moves that pose a
threat to Japan's security.
The EU is considering lifting the ban because ties between it
and China have improved over recent years. Immediately after the
Tiananmen Square incident, the EU's relationship with China
cooled over the latter's infringements of human rights. However,
it has been improving gradually to a level where in 1998 they
began holding regular summit meetings.
Their relations have become closer, particularly in trading.
China is the second-largest trade partner for the EU, while the
EU is the biggest for China. Between last year and this year, the
leaders of Britain, Germany, France and Italy -- core members of
the EU -- visited China in succession because they all wanted a
slice of the Chinese market.
Given these circumstances, Beijing said the continued
improvement of these ties would be impaired if the arms embargo
was maintained, increasing pressure on the EU to lift it. On the
EU side, some countries, particularly Germany and France, were in
favor of lifting the embargo.
The EU is an important player in international politics. It
should refrain from pursuing its own economic interests at the
expense of causing instability in Asia.
-- The Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo.
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ANPAk..r..
OtherOp-Dec 15, 2004
Identity test for WTO
THE European Union's nomination this week of the well-regarded
French trade diplomat, Mr Pascal Lamy, to head the World Trade
Organisation opens up intriguing possibilities. First off, the
question of personalities tied up with intra-regional political
rivalries could come back to haunt the organisation. The last
leadership contest pitted Asia against the United States and a
number of Western nations. It was a bruising fight which wounded
the WTO to an extent never publicly acknowledged. Second, the new
head will face an enormous challenge bringing focus back to an
organisation that has had some of its thunder stolen by pro-
active member nations which obviously place more faith in
regional and nation-to-nation trade agreements than the WTO's
promised omnibus Doha Round. This is a WTO failing. It is guilty,
but responsibility rests primarily at the door of regional power
blocs, principally the US and the EU, for their distorting farm
support. In short, the new chief would have to reassert the WTO's
primacy in overseeing international trade if it is not to drift
into irrelevance.
In the nomination round, Mr Lamy is likely to face off rivals
from South America and Mauritius who have not been named. He
looks like a runaway favourite as he has worked for universalism
in trade while ably advancing Europe's interests as the EU trade
commissioner. But having the EU's imprimatur could also work
against him. Might the US play a spoiler's role by re-enacting
its squabble with France and Germany prior to the Iraq invasion,
and campaign against Mr Lamy? In the last contest the US-backed
Mr Mike Moore of New Zealand and Asia's candidate, Dr Supachai
Panitchpakdi of Thailand, wound up sharing the six-term tenure as
a compromise. But the campaign sniping and accusations traded
about suspect open-trade credentials and US bully tactics did
much to chip away at the WTO's mandate in acting as an honest
broker in trade issues. The hope must be that the new director-
general will be chosen in a manner free of rancour. The
candidature cannot become a surrogate for nationalistic drum-
beating. The new head will need all the support he can muster to
steer the WTO towards a conclusion of the Doha Round by the end
of next year. Dr Supachai's term ends in August next year. By
then, the WTO could be sorely tested adjudicating over the
remains of the lapsed Multi-Fibre Agreement.
-- The Straits Times