No US pressure over China ban

THE US did not exert “any great pressure” on Ireland to reverse its stance on the issue of the EU arms embargo on China, the Taoiseach has said.

Mr Ahern attempted to facilitate a lifting of the embargo during his tenure as president of the European Council in the first half of 2004. Those efforts are continuing, and the Taoiseach believes a decision to allow China purchase weapons from the EU will be agreed upon by the member states by the end of the year.

However, the US is vehemently opposed to the EU’s imminent lifting of the embargo, as it believes China will simply accelerate arms imports from Europe, which could then be used to further domestic repression or bolster the communist state in its stand-off with Taiwan.