EU arms embargo against China

On 07 October 2004, US Congressmen Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a resolution (HCR 512) concluding that it is the sense of Congress that "the President should seek a commitment from the leaders of the European Union that the European Union not lift its embargo on arms sales to the People's Republic of China."

Furthermore, it calls for a Defense Department report in 2005 detailing the impact a possible lifting of the embargo might have and a review of the steps the U.S. will take to address this situation.

The resolution points out that the U.S. shares defense technology with the European Union in order to enhance the interoperability between the two military powers and that a lifting of the embargo might result in US military technology being transferred to China. Also, it states that the Taiwan Strait is one of the flashpoints in the world and that a conflict in the region will involve United States forces.

Below follows the full text of the Resolution:

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the European Union's plans to lift the embargo on arms sales to the People's Republic of China

• Whereas leaders of the European Union and the People's Republic of China will meet in December 2004 in the Hague, the Netherlands, to discuss lifting the European Union's embargo on arms sales to the People's Republic of China;
• Whereas the European Union initiated a ban on arms sales to the People's Republic of China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre;
• Whereas the ban has remained in force due to China's continued violation of human rights;
• Whereas the ban displays the European Union's ongoing dissatisfaction with the pace of political reform in China and the continued repression of dissent by China's authoritarian government;
• Whereas 14 years after the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, many protesters still remain in prison and have not received a fair trial;
• Whereas according to the annual human rights reports of the United States State Department and various international human rights organizations, the Government of the People's Republic of China continues to commit human rights abuse against its own people;
• Whereas lifting the European Union embargo on arms sales to the People's Republic of China will result in an increased arms procurement by the People's Republic China;
• Whereas the U.S. shares defense technology with the European Union in order to enhance the interoperability between the two military powers;
• Whereas lifting the embargo will render it impossible to guarantee that the military technology that the United States shares with Europe will not be passed on to the People's Republic of China;
• Whereas the Taiwan Strait is one of the flashpoints in the world and a conflict in the region will involve United States forces;
• Whereas the military balance between Taiwan and China continues to shift in favor of the People's Republic of China as documented in recent reports from th Pentagon and in the June 2004 report by the U.S.-China Security and Economic Review Commission; Now, therefore, be it
• Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that:

1. the President should seek a commitment from the leaders of the European Union that the European Union not lift its embargo on arms sales to the People's Republic of China; and
2. the 2005 annual report by the Department of Defense on the military power of People's Republic of China required by section 1202 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (10 U.S.C. 113 note) should include --
   (A) an analysis of the effect on United States interests in the Asia-Pacific region if the European Union lifts its embargo on arms sales to the People's Republic of China; and
   (B) a review of the steps taken by the United States to address such action by the European Union.