ENDING ARMS EMBARGO AGAINST CHINA WOULD BE TERRIBLE MISTAKE: MAC HEAD
ROC News Agency
2005-03-24 16:25:37
Taipei, March 24 (CNA) The European Union lifting its arms embargo against China "would be a terrible mistake with serious ramifications for Taiwan and the world, " and Taiwan is pleased to see signs that the E.U. may delay ending the ban, Taiwan's top mainland China policy planner said in an opinion piece published Thursday in the Asian Wall Street Journal.
Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Jaushieh Joseph Wu, made the remarks in an article titled "Answering Beijing's War Law."
Wu pointed out that "we have seen what happens when aggressive intentions are not quickly nipped in the bud."
He cited as an example the high price that the U.S., assisted by its coalition partners, had to pay for the international community's failure to forestall Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. "Even with the embargo still in place, the military situation [in the Taiwan Strait] is already deeply disturbing," Wu also said.
He pointed out that expenditures on China's armed forces is expected to increase by 12.6 percent this year, the 11th consecutive year of rapid expansion. More than 700 short-range ballistic missiles are targeted against Taiwan, together with a fleet of modern submarines and advanced jet fighters.
Wu stressed that no one wants to see history repeat itself, and called for the support of the international community "before the situation deteriorates any further."
(By Lilian Wu)
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