Some European nations want the 20-year embargo on sales to China lifted. Their arguments are strong, but the arguments for not lifting it are stronger.
Last month, I was in Sweden meeting with think tank and government officials. The main purpose of the visit was to discuss EU-U.S. policies toward Iran, especially the effectiveness of the international sanctions seeking to change Tehran’s nuclear policies. But some of my Swedish interlocutors, like other Europeans, also raised the issue of the ineffectiveness of the arms sanctions towards China as a reason for their skepticism regarding the Iranian sanctions.
Their arguments should be looked at, but first it’s important to offer a little background on the issue. The killing of many unarmed protesters involved in the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and elsewhere in China provoked international outrage and led many countries to adopt sanctions against Beijing, including an embargo on the sale of weapons. The EU declaration establishing an embargo is simply one sentence in a collective statement: “In the present circumstances the European Council thinks it necessary to adopt the following measures…interruption by the member states of the community of military cooperation and an embargo on trade in arms with China.”
Since then, the EU arms embargo has been seen by all as more of a symbolic act of protest than a tool for actually changing Beijing’s behavior. Technically, EU members aren’t even legally forbidden from selling military items to China. However, the 1989 EU (then the European Community) declaration is a political commitment, and EU governments are supposed to uphold the spirit of this declaration. The constraints on arms exports don’t aim to inflict economic punishment, but rather are designed to send a strong message about European values. Most disputes between the EU and China still concern human rights, which remains the single most significant stumbling block between the two parties.
Yet there’s no universal understanding of what the embargo entails in practice. Each EU member interprets the embargo in terms of their national laws, decision making processes, and regulations. Since the EU lacks strong foreign policy institutions, the arms embargo against China is best seen as a collection of national EU arms embargoes. As a result, the EU collective stance lacks coherence or means of enforcement.
Since late 2003, France has sustained a campaign calling for lifting the embargo. At times, other countries – notably Spain and Greece – have supported repeal. The United Kingdom has consistently opposed lifting the embargo in public, though reports indicate that in private, U.K. diplomats have been more flexible. Some of the EU’s new members from the former Soviet bloc have meanwhile joined with Britain on human rights grounds, remembering the horrors they suffered under Communist rule.
But proponents of repealing the arms embargo have been pushing their case. They note, for example, that the embargo complicates the EU’s relations with China and partially negates EU efforts to develop a strategic partnership with Beijing in cooperation of a variety of goals. Chinese representatives for their part consider the embargo degrading since it puts China in the same category as other EU-sanctioned countries such as Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar. PRC documents repeatedly call on the EU to repeal it.
Photo Credit: Flickr / Smudge 9000
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Singapore Ah Beng
Some ding dang countries in europe, notably UK, are brothers in crime with the american war criminals. Tony Blair and George Bush are the most disgraceful war criminals, with their fraudulent WMD charges to kill millions of Iraqis.
Abu Kassim
Embargo or no embargo.China will still have the weapons one way or another, either self developed or snuck into China by one of the EU countries. And the Europeans and Americans are big hypocrites. They supply weapons to the most vile dictators in the Middle East and Latin America countries. China did bad by crushing a few fellas in Tian An Men, but the Americans killed thousands of innocent people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, including women and children, and the europeans are accomplice to the american war criminals, especially UK.
SingaporeanX
@concernec_citizen: you are a violent dolt, and please do not use the name of God for your violent nincompoop cry. You r a disgrace to your own country.
concern_citizen
I GUESS THERES A LOT OF CHINESE BLOGGERS ON THIS FORUM. EUROPE is a SUPER POWER. EUROPE must stand with US and other allied nations for the glory of god PLEASE.
concern_citizen
why europeans are so scared economically? why france, germany and other european nation wants to lift the ban? european nation should learn on what happen to russia. after long decades of transferring technology to china, russia faces serious problem in patent and illegal technology copy by the chinese. china showcase their so called indigeneous weapons that are so physically copied from RUSSIA also don't forget china already fooled US economically and taking advantage of this to grow their economy rapidly.europeans must understand that most of european companies establish their bussiness and manufacturing to china only to give millions of jobs to chinese and expose european technology to chinese thus copying or pirating this technology for further unfair economic growth by the chinese which at the end leaving millions of europeans jobless. EUROPE YOU SHOULD NOT BE FOOLED BY CHINESE. europe is so rich industrially and technology supreme DONT LET the chinese fooled you. EUROPE SHOULD NOT LIFT THE BAN OF MILITARY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TO CHINA INSTEAD MAKE IT MORE AGGRESSIVE AGAINST RISING CHINA PLEASE.
Fanny
I arrive a bit late in the discussion but last September 20 in Brussels, Premier Wen Jiabao didn't get the embargo lift he'd hoped for, nor did the EU grant China the wieshed market economy status 4 years ahead of time. That was his last EU-China summit. He didn't get his presents, just thanks and a grand banquet. Technology transfers in the weapon systems field would lead to the same results as in high-speed train or power gen or ITC or other businesses: your Chinese partner might become your next competitor armed with your technology, and possibly your patents. Check that.
Pete
I just shake my head in dismay every time I hear people saying China is bullying other countries whenever there is a territorial dispute in the South China Sea. They will instinctively point to China as the bad guy without learning the history behind the facts. Those disputed remote islands belong to China historically and that's a fact. Just because they are not actively inhabited or without a national flag on the ground doesn't mean it is up for grabs simply because they are close by to certain countries . Philippine and Vietnam including Japan act as opportunistic thieves under the marching band of the US force in its re-positioning in the region. They cry foul while stealing things from others and at the same time try to incite international sympathy. Unfortunately China is the double victim in these cases.
Abdullah 37
USA always think they are so more free and democratic then the rest of the world.
This is just a ton of cow dung peddled on a daily basis to others.
Consider this, Malaysia has drop the ISA that allows detention of an individual without trial for 3 months.
The USA has just legislate into law that allow their citizen to be detent without trial Indefinitely!
And they may end up in Guntanamo Bay to be tortured!
And the US president can sign an order to have any of their citizen killed,also just based on suspicion without the benefit of a civil trial!
How do you like this, in the name of their shunning democracy!
And what is the ICC saying about this dacronian US law?
Nothing,absolute silence,just amazing.
So who is more draconian ?
If there is ever any doubt,just look at the heavy handed tatics and abuses that the Wall Street Protestors were subjected too.
Of course,if these images of the protesters been beaten up were in the Midle East or China, there will be branded as crimes against humanity.
In the USA,these are just civil action by law enforcers…