FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Amy Auth
202-225-2071
United States Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.-5) has voted to strongly discourage the European Union from ending its arms embargo against the People’s Republic of China. Rep. Foxx believes that if the EU ends its sanctions, the United States could ultimately face a serious national security crisis.
The United States and European Union imposed arms embargos on China following the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. Hundreds of unarmed political protestors were killed or wounded while calling for reform.
However, citing a growing deficit with China, along with the potential for increased trade, the EU may lift the embargo within the next six months. China has agreed to forgive European debt in exchange for weapons and military technology.
What concerns Rep. Foxx is that nothing would prevent China from transferring the weapons or technologies to less stable regions of the world. In addition, nothing would prevent China from using the resources to continue to violate basic human rights within its own country.
“If the EU lifts the sanctions, what is going to stop China from selling the weapons to North Korea or terrorists in the Middle East?” asked Rep. Foxx. “What will stop them from using these weapons to repeat Tiananmen Square?”
In addition to these concerns, Rep. Foxx points out that the end of the weapons embargo will heighten tensions between China and its current military targets, Taiwan and Japan.
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