EU Decides to Keep Weapons Embargo against China

The European Union (EU) decided on Monday to keep its weapons embargo against China that was imposed because of China’s oppression of human rights since the Tiananmen Square Protest in 1989.

In their monthly meeting held in Luxembourg, foreign ministers of the E.U. rejected France’s request to dissolve the embargo and urged China to improve its human rights further.

Dutch Foreign Minister and European Union spokesman Bernard Bot said, “We need to watch the situation longer. However, the EU is inclined to lift the embargo, and if China shows its efforts to improve human rights, it will help.”

France has been requesting an end to the embargo against China, saying it is an outdated measure. The U.S., however, has been opposing moves to remove it, worried about the possibility of a weaponry competition between China and Taiwan as well as China’s ongoing oppression of human rights.

E.U. foreign ministers, though, agreed at the same meeting to lift the weapons embargo against Libya that had been instituted since 1988.

Dong-Keun Keum gold@donga.com