LUXEMBOURG, May 2: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday voiced firm opposition to European Union’s (EU) plans to lift a 16-year-old arms embargo on China, amid worsening ties between Tokyo and the economic giant. At an annual Japan-EU summit, the two sides also failed to agree a breakthrough over which nation will host a multibillion-dollar project to build a revolutionary nuclear reactor.

Mr Koizumi was in Luxembourg, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, after visiting Pakistan and India in a four-nation tour that also includes the Netherlands. Speaking after the talks, he said the 25-member bloc acknowledged Tokyo’s opposition to the plans to end the 16-year-old arms embargo.

“I did express our concern and I think... Japan’s concern is very well understood,” he said at a joint press conference with EU leaders, including foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. The first Japanese prime minister to visit Luxembourg, Mr Koizumi said Japan and EU must bolster efforts to see eye to eye on threats to East Asian security.

The comment came as China continues to expand military spending, and against the backdrop of souring relations between Beijing and Tokyo, with Chinese street protests over Japan’s war-time aggression. Mr Juncker reiterated that the bloc hopes to reach an agreement on lifting the plan by the end of next month.

But he also underlined that a lifting of the arms embargo would have “no material consequences” — an apparent reference to any increase in arms sales to China.

“We are in the process of discussing the subject with our closest partners, that means Japan (and) the United States,” he said. “We take very seriously the observations made by both Japan and the US.” Proponents within the EU of the lifting of the ban assert that it would not lead to a significant increase in arms sales to China, either quantitatively or qualitatively.—AFP