Europe plots China talks with America and Japan

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 21/04/05

The EU is considering plans to launch talks with Japan and the United States over a strategy towards Asia, the first discussions of their kind.

Following the backlash over the EU's plans to lift its arms embargo against China, the move represents the EU's first attempt to discuss the region's geopolitics with partners.

Both Japan and the US have reacted angrily to plans to lift the 15-year-old arms embargo, stressing that the EU needs to take into consideration the delicate balance of power in the region.

The format of the talks will be agreed in the coming weeks but diplomats say EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana could be involved in the discussions.

The talks are expected to take place on a bilateral basis and could be launched during Solana's next visit to Washington. It is not clear if similar talks will take place with China.

"It will be a strategic dialogue on how we, the US and Japan view the region," said one diplomat.

In recent weeks both Japan and the US have reiterated their opposition to lifting the embargo in discussions with Solana's personal envoy on non-proliferation Annalisa Giannella.

Giannella, who was in Japan last week, visited Australia and South Korea this week to gauge the mood in the region and try to explain the EU's position.

But attempts to persuade Japan and the US that the ban will not mean a "qualitative or quantitative" increase in military exports to China have run into the sand.

Opposition to the EU's plans has been heightened by recent tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over Japan joining the UN Security Council and US concern about increased tensions in the Taiwan strait.

With the lifting of the embargo effectively on hold, the EU now appears to be making an effort to prove it is acting responsibly in the region.

Last weekend during an informal meeting in Luxembourg foreign ministers held what some described as "the first strategic discussion on East Asia in several years".

David Fouquet, the director of the Brussels-based Asia-Europe Project, said that the arms embargo issue had pushed the EU to think of the region in more strategic terms.

"If the EU lifts the embargo it will most definitely have to take amore responsible, more active and informed role in Asia," he said. "If it is going to transfer defence equipment it will have to take into consideration the impact."

Article reports that the EU was considering plans to launch talks with Japan and the United States over a strategy towards Asia, the first discussions of their kind. Following the backlash over the EU's plans to lift its arms embargo against China, the move represented the EU's first attempt to discuss the region's geopolitics with partners.

EU: EEAS: Asia http://eeas.europa.eu/asia/index_en.htm

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