China Tiawan Act spooks Euros arms sale

NY Times:

Yielding to pressure from President Bush and threats of retaliation from Congress, the European Union has put off plans to lift its arms embargo on China this spring and may not press the issue until next year, American and European officials said Monday.

The officials said that in addition to American pressure, European nations have been shaken by the recent adoption of legislation by the Chinese National People's Congress authorizing the use of force to stop Taiwan from seceding. The Chinese action, they said, jolted France and undercut its moves to end the embargo before June.

"Europe wants to move forward on the embargo, but the recent actions by China have made things a lot more complex," said a senior European official. "The timeline has become more difficult. The timeline is going to have to slip."


China has played the Tiawan card poorly again. It is the Norks that have indirectly pushed them into this losing hand. By failing to control the outpost of tyranny in North Korea, the Chinese prevoked the US and Japan into making overt noises to support Taiwan, which probably led to the ill fated act. China needs to get control of their problem ally, before Japan and Taiwan an possibly South Korea go nuclear on them. They do not want to find themselves surrounded by nuclear powers just to let Kim play his extortion game. They have far too much to lose.

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