14-JUL-1993 16:37
TRANSCRIPT B
S
JAMES LEE
0494536249 P.21
FOREIGN AFFAIRS SELECT
MR. ALASTAIR GOODLAD COMMITTEE 14 JULY 1993
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issues. There are no specific conditions nor is there at the
moment any specific agreement with the Community partners about
the time-scale of reviewing those conditions. All I can say in
answer to your question is that the ban will be reviewed with the
Community partners from time to time but in the light of progress on the issues that everybody regards as important.
MR. MICHAEL JOPLING:
Say we didn't have the ban, do you see China as a very interesting
future market for our arms sales and could I also link with that
what prospects you see for us having arms sales in Taiwan and
especially what lessons might be learned from the experience of
others like France and the United States who don't seem to have
damaged their relations with China all that much by supplying Taiwan with military weaponry?
MR. ALASTAIR GOODLAD:
On the question of arms sales to the People's Republic of China, in
the long-term of course there is a market there but for the
present the ban will remain.
As for Taiwan, as you say, we restrict the sale to Taiwan of
defence-related equipment which would enhance the capability of
the Taiwanese armed forces the People's Republic of China regard
sales of such equipment as interference with their internal
affairs and we have no intention of allowing arms sales to Taiwan.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.