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| Sunday, 18 September 2005 |
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Japan lodges fresh protest to EU New York, Sept 17 (AFP) - Japan's Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura on Friday lodged a fresh protest with France for its push for lifting a European Union (EU) embargo on arms sales to China, a Japanese official said. "We oppose lifting the EU embargo on arms exports to China," Machimura was quoted as telling his French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy at a New York hotel. "East Asia's security sits on a delicate balance and it must not be pulled down," Machimura said. The EU imposed the embargo after the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy students in Beijing. France has been a prime supporter of ending the 16-year-old ban, but the move is opposed by Japan and the United States, which fear a tilting of the strategic balance in Asia. In response to Machimura's remark, Douste-Blazy only said he understood Japan's position, according to the official who was in the bilateral meeting. The ministers met on the sidelines of a three-day world summit at the United Nations ending Friday. Douste-Blazy reaffirmed France's support for Japan's joint bid with Brazil, Germany and India to get permanent membership in the UN Security Council, the official said. "We hope there will be good progress by the end of the year" on reforming the council, the French minister said, as quoted by the Japanese official. Japan is struggling to prop up momentum for enlarging the powerful group as Iran's nuclear ambitions and condemnations of terrorism are in the spotlight at the world summit. A UN blueprint to restructure the embattled world body calls on the assembly to review progress on a planned expansion of the 15-member council, including five new permanent members, by the end of the year.
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