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Aug. 9 issue - Bush administration officials call it the "new great game." It threatens to rival the war in Iraq as a source of transatlantic tension and poses a serious, if subtle, challenge to U.S. hegemony in the world's most dynamic and populated region.
The European Union is reviewing the arms embargo imposed on China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, and is likely to scrap it soon, widening Beijing's access to modern weaponry. Pentagon officials say France and Germany, which are spearheading the drive in the face of fierce U.S. opposition, hope to have the matter settled in time for a Sino-EU summit in December. "The Americans are laying very clear markers to warn the Europeans how they feel about this," says Banning Garrett, an Asia expert at the Washington-based Atlantic Council of the United States. "But there is a good chance the embargo will be lifted late this year."
The embargo battle reveals the creeping return of multipolarity in a world dominated by a single superpower for the last 15 years. Earlier this year, during a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Jacques Chirac said it "makes no sense" to maintain the embargo, given the improvement in Chinese civil liberties since Tiananmen. While the United States has cajoled EU members into respecting the arms sales ban, its stand is beginning to erode under the centrifugal forces of Chinese growth and EU expansion in a global marketplace. "In Singapore, they're talking about shifts in the 'balance of influence' " in China's favor, says Clyde Prestowitz Jr., president of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington. "In Australia, they're asking, 'Please do not ask us to choose between Washington and Beijing.' The unipolar world is being challenged in Asia."
Kathianne said:I'm getting a bit crancky here. 3rd story I'm reading this morning with France sticking its fingers in the pot. This is definately not looking like a good day!
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5570509/site/newsweek/
Excerpt:
Aug. 9 issue - Bush administration officials call it the "new great game." It threatens to rival the war in Iraq as a source of transatlantic tension and poses a serious, if subtle, challenge to U.S. hegemony in the world's most dynamic and populated region.
The European Union is reviewing the arms embargo imposed on China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, and is likely to scrap it soon, widening Beijing's access to modern weaponry. Pentagon officials say France and Germany, which are spearheading the drive in the face of fierce U.S. opposition, hope to have the matter settled in time for a Sino-EU summit in December. "The Americans are laying very clear markers to warn the Europeans how they feel about this," says Banning Garrett, an Asia expert at the Washington-based Atlantic Council of the United States. "But there is a good chance the embargo will be lifted late this year."
The embargo battle reveals the creeping return of multipolarity in a world dominated by a single superpower for the last 15 years. Earlier this year, during a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Jacques Chirac said it "makes no sense" to maintain the embargo, given the improvement in Chinese civil liberties since Tiananmen. While the United States has cajoled EU members into respecting the arms sales ban, its stand is beginning to erode under the centrifugal forces of Chinese growth and EU expansion in a global marketplace. "In Singapore, they're talking about shifts in the 'balance of influence' " in China's favor, says Clyde Prestowitz Jr., president of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington. "In Australia, they're asking, 'Please do not ask us to choose between Washington and Beijing.' The unipolar world is being challenged in Asia."
Russia can't be too tickled about this either. Guess the EU is proving it's desire to be the big boys.
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