[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 33 (Thursday, March 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3088-S3090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        EUROPEAN ARMS EMBARGO ON THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 91 submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 91) urging the European Union to 
     maintain its arms export embargo on the People's Republic of 
     China.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to support an updated version 
of S. Res. 59, which I submitted on February 17 that calls on the 
European Union to maintain its arms embargo against the People's 
Republic of China.
  I am pleased that all of the original cosponsors of S. Res. 59 are 
joining me in submitting this revised legislation. This resolution 
states our strong support of the United States arms embargo on China 
and urges the European Union to strengthen, enforce, and maintain its 
embargo as well. It encourages the EU to examine its current arms 
control policies, close any loopholes, and examine their trade with 
China inn light of serious human rights concerns.
  The human rights abuses at Tiananmen Square in 1989 led the United 
States and the EU to impose this embargo. Now is not the time to lift 
it. If the EU proceeds down this road, there will be negative 
consequences to our relationship--an outcome their officials claim they 
do not want. This resolution expresses the Senate's view that 
maintaining the embargo is in our mutual security interests.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table en bloc, and that any statements relating to the 
resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 91) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 91

       Whereas, on June 4, 1989, the Communist Government of the 
     People's Republic of China ordered the People's Liberation 
     Army to carry out an unprovoked, brutal assault on thousands 
     of peaceful and unarmed demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, 
     resulting

[[Page S3089]]

     in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries;
       Whereas, on June 5, 1989, President George H. W. Bush 
     condemned these actions of the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China, and the United States took several 
     concrete steps to respond to the military assault, including 
     suspending all exports of items on the United States 
     Munitions List to the People's Republic of China;
       Whereas, on June 27, 1989, the European Union (then called 
     the European Community) imposed an arms embargo on the 
     People's Republic of China in response to the Government of 
     China's brutal repression of protestors calling for 
     democratic and political reform;
       Whereas the European Council, in adopting that embargo, 
     ``strongly condemn[ed] the brutal repression taking place in 
     China'' and ``solemnly request[ed] the Chinese authorities. . 
     . to put an end to the repressive actions against those who 
     legitimately claim their democratic rights'';
       Whereas the poor human rights conditions that precipitated 
     the decisions of the United States and the European Union to 
     impose and maintain their respective embargoes have not 
     improved;
       Whereas the Department of State 2004 Country Reports on 
     Human Rights Practices states that, during 2004, ``[t]he 
     [Chinese] Government's human rights record remained poor, and 
     the Government continued to commit numerous and serious 
     abuses'';
       Whereas, according to the same Department of State report, 
     credible sources estimated that hundreds of persons remained 
     in prison in the People's Republic of China for their 
     activities during the June 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations;
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     continues to maintain that its crackdown on democracy 
     activists in Tiananmen Square was warranted and remains 
     unapologetic for its brutal actions, as demonstrated by that 
     Government's handling of the recent death of former Premier 
     and Communist Party General Secretary, Zhao Ziyang, who had 
     been under house arrest for 15 years because of his objection 
     to the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown;
       Whereas, since December 2003, the European Parliament, the 
     legislative arm of the European Union, has rejected in five 
     separate resolutions the lifting of the European Union arms 
     embargo on the People's Republic of China because of 
     continuing human rights concerns in China;
       Whereas the February 24, 2005, resolution passed by the 
     European Parliament stated that the Parliament ``believes 
     that unless and until there is a significant improvement in 
     the human rights situation in China, it would be wrong for 
     the EU to envisage any lifting [of] its embargo on arms sales 
     to China, imposed in 1989'' and that it ``requests that the 
     Commission formally oppose such a move when it is discussed 
     in the [European] Council'';
       Whereas the governments of a number of European Union 
     member states have individually expressed concern about 
     lifting the European Union arms embargo on the People's 
     Republic of China, and several have passed resolutions of 
     opposition in their national parliaments;
       Whereas the European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, 
     as a non-binding set of principles, is insufficient to 
     control European arms exports to the People's Republic of 
     China;
       Whereas public statements by some major defense firms in 
     Europe and other indicators suggest that such firms intend to 
     increase military sales to the People's Republic of China if 
     the European Union lifts its arms embargo on that country;
       Whereas the Department of Defense fiscal year 2004 Annual 
     Report on the Military Power of the People's Republic of 
     China found that ``[e]fforts underway to lift the European 
     Union (EU) embargo on China will provide additional 
     opportunities to acquire specific technologies from Western 
     suppliers'';
       Whereas the same Department of Defense report noted that 
     the military modernization and build-up of the People's 
     Republic of China is aimed at increasing the options of the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China to intimidate or 
     attack democratic Taiwan, as well as preventing or disrupting 
     third-party intervention, namely by the United States, in a 
     cross-strait military crisis;
       Whereas the June 2004, report to Congress of the 
     congressionally-mandated, bipartisan United States-China 
     Economic and Security Review Commission concluded that 
     ``there has been a dramatic change in the military balance 
     between China and Taiwan,'' and that ``[i]n the past few 
     years, China has increasingly developed a quantitative and 
     qualitative advantage over Taiwan'';
       Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) 
     codifies in United States law the basis for continued 
     relations between the United States and Taiwan, affirmed that 
     the decision of the United States to establish diplomatic 
     relations with the People's Republic of China was based on 
     the expectation that the future of Taiwan would be determined 
     by peaceful means;
       Whereas the balance of power in the Taiwan Straits and, 
     specifically, the military capabilities of the People's 
     Republic of China, directly affect peace and security in the 
     East Asia and Pacific region;
       Whereas the Foreign Minister of Japan, Nobutaka Machimura, 
     recently stated that Japan is opposed to the European Union 
     lifting its embargo against the People's Republic of China 
     and that ``[i]t is extremely worrying as this issue concerns 
     peace and security environments not only in Japan but also in 
     East Asia as a whole'';
       Whereas the United States has numerous security interests 
     in the East Asia and Pacific region, and the United States 
     Armed Forces, which are deployed throughout the region, would 
     be adversely affected by any Chinese military aggression;
       Whereas the lifting of the European Union arms embargo on 
     the People's Republic of China would increase the risk that 
     United States troops could face military equipment and 
     technology of Western or United States origin in a cross-
     strait military conflict;
       Whereas this risk would necessitate a reevaluation by the 
     United States Government of procedures for licensing arms and 
     dual-use exports to member states of the European Union in 
     order to attempt to prevent the reexport or retransfer of 
     United States exports from such countries to the People's 
     Republic of China;
       Whereas the report of the United States-China Economic and 
     Security Review Commission on the Symposia on Transatlantic 
     Perspectives on Economic and Security Relations with China, 
     held in Brussels, Belgium and Prague, Czech Republic from 
     November 29, 2004, through December 3, 2004, recommended that 
     the United States Government continue to press the European 
     Union to maintain the arms embargo on the People's Republic 
     of China and strengthen its arms export control system, as 
     well as place limitations on United States public and private 
     sector defense cooperation with foreign firms that sell 
     sensitive military technology to China;
       Whereas the lax export control practices of the People's 
     Republic of China and the continuing proliferation of 
     technology related to weapons of mass destruction and 
     ballistic missiles by state-sponsored entities in China 
     remain a serious concern of the Government of the United 
     States;
       Whereas the People's Republic of China remains a primary 
     supplier of weapons to countries such as Burma and Sudan 
     where, according to the United States Commission on 
     International Religious Freedom, the military has played a 
     key role in the oppression of religious and ethnic 
     minorities;
       Whereas the most recent Central Intelligence Agency 
     Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of 
     Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and 
     Advanced Conventional Munitions, 1 July Through 31 December 
     2003, found that ``Chinese entities continued to work with 
     Pakistan and Iran on ballistic missile-related projects 
     during the second half of 2003,'' and that ``[d]uring 2003, 
     China remained a primary supplier of advanced conventional 
     weapons to Pakistan, Sudan, and Iran'';
       Whereas, as recently as December 27, 2004, the Government 
     of the United States determined that seven entities or 
     persons in the People's Republic of China, including several 
     state-owned companies involved in China's military-industrial 
     complex, are subject to sanctions under the Iran 
     Nonproliferation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-178; 50 U.S.C. 
     1701 note) for sales to Iran of prohibited equipment or 
     technology;
       Whereas the authority under the Iran Nonproliferation Act 
     of 2000 to impose sanctions on Chinese persons or entities 
     was used 23 times in 2004; and
       Whereas the assistance provided by these entities to Iran 
     works directly counter to the efforts of the United States 
     Government and several European governments to curb illicit 
     weapons activities in Iran: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) strongly supports the United States embargo on the 
     People's Republic of China;
       (2) strongly urges the European Union to continue its ban 
     on all arms exports to the People's Republic of China;
       (3) requests that the President raise United States 
     objections to the potential lifting of the European Union 
     arms embargo against the People's Republic of China in any 
     upcoming meetings with European officials;
       (4) encourages the Government of the United States to make 
     clear in discussions with representatives of the national 
     governments of European Union member states that a lifting of 
     the European Union embargo on arms sales to the People's 
     Republic of China would potentially adversely affect 
     transatlantic defense cooperation, including future transfers 
     of United States military technology, services, and equipment 
     to European Union countries;
       (5) urges the European Union--
       (A) to strengthen, enforce, and maintain its arms embargo 
     on the People's Republic of China and in its Code of Conduct 
     on Arms Exports;
       (B) to make its Code of Conduct on Arms Exports legally 
     binding and enforceable in all European Union member states;
       (C) to more carefully regulate and monitor the end-use of 
     exports of sensitive military and dual-use technology; and
       (D) to increase transparency in its arms and dual-use 
     export control regimes;
       (6) deplores the ongoing human rights abuses in the 
     People's Republic of China; and
       (7) urges the United States Government and the European 
     Union to cooperatively develop a common strategy to seek--
       (A) improvement in the human rights conditions in the 
     People's Republic of China;
       (B) an end to the military build-up of the People's 
     Republic of China aimed at Taiwan;

[[Page S3090]]

       (C) a permanent and verifiable end to the ongoing 
     proliferation by state and non-state owned entities and 
     individuals in the People's Republic of China of munitions, 
     materials, and military equipment and the trade in such items 
     involving countries, such as Burma and Sudan, whose armies 
     have played a role in the perpetration of violations of human 
     rights and of humanitarian law against members of ethnic and 
     religious minorities;
       (D) improvement in the administration and enforcement of 
     export controls in the People's Republic of China; and
       (E) an end to the ongoing proliferation by state and non-
     state owned entities and individuals in the People's Republic 
     of China of technology related to conventional weapons, 
     weapons of mass destruction, and ballistic missiles.

                          ____________________