EU likely to delay lifting Chinese arms ban

BRUSSELS: China’s tougher stance on Taiwan threatened to derail European Union efforts to boost ties with Beijing on Tuesday and delay lifting the EU’s arms embargo. New tensions over Taiwan would likely put off an end to the ban on arms sales, which the United States wants kept in place, diplomats said. China urged the EU to stick to its goal of ending the ban by end-June and rejected comments by Britain and others that it had been made harder since Beijing passed a law last week allowing the use of force to stop any Taiwanese independence efforts. EU leaders were expected to discuss the embargo at a summit later on Tuesday, although it is not formally on the agenda. Any delay would be warmly welcomed by the United States, which has pledged to defend Taiwan in the event of an attack and urged the EU to retain the ban. “It is clear that China has not fulfilled certain conditions for lifting the embargo, notably by not raising tensions in the region,” said one EU diplomat in Brussels. reuters

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