EAST ASIA SECURITY ACT OF 2005; TORTURE VICTIMS RELIEF REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005; CONDEMNING THE DPRK FOR THE ABDUCTIONS AND CAPTIVITY OF CITIZENS OF THE ROK AND JAPAN; ACKNOWLEDGING AFRICAN DESCENDANTS OF THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE; COMMEMORATING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC AND HONORING VETERANS OF WWII; RECOGNIZING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORKERS' STRIKES IN POLAND; SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF A NATIONAL WEEKEND OF PRAYER AND REFLECTION FOR DARFUR, SUDAN; AND COMMENDING KUWAIT FOR GRANTING WOMEN CERTAIN IMPORTANT POLITICAL RIGHTS THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2005 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:40 a.m., in room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Henry J. Hyde (Chairman of the Committee) presiding. Chairman HYDE. The Committee will come to order. The business meeting of the Committee will come to order pursuant to notice. I call up the bill, H.R. 3100, East Asia Security Act of 2005, for purposes of markup, and I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered as read and ordered reported favorably to the House. [The bill referred to follows:] (1) (Original Signature of Meinber) 109TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H.R. 3100 To authorize measures to deter arms transfers by foreign countries to the People's Republic of China. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. HYDE (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. FALEOMAvaega, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. WELLER, and Mr. BOOZMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred the Committee on to Cand Mr. Issa 1 A BILL To authorize measures to deter arms transfers by foreign countries to the People's Republic of China. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the "East Asia Security 5 Act of 2005". H.L.C. 2 1 SEC. 2. STATEMENTS OF POLICY. 2 Congress (1) previously expressed its strong concerns in House Resolution 57 of February 2, 2005, and Sen ate Resolution 91 of March 17, 2005, with the transfer of armaments and related technology to the People's Republic of China by member states of the European Union, which increased eightfold from 2001 to 2003, and with plans to terminate in the near future the arms embargo they imposed in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square massacre; (2) welcomes deferral of a decision by the European Council to terminate its arms embargo following adoption of those Resolutions, the President's visit to Europe, and growing concern among coun tries in the regions and the general public on both sides of the Atlantic; (3) welcomes the decision by the European Parliament on April 14, 2005, by a vote of 421 to 85, to oppose the lifting of the European Union's arms embargo on the People's Republic of China, and resolutions issued by a number of elected parliamentary bodies in Europe also opposing the lifting of the arms embargo; (4) also welcomes the onset of a strategic dialogue between the European Commission and the 3 H.L.C. 1 Government of the United States on the security sit greater understanding will emerge of the con 2 uation in East Asia, through which it is hoped a 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 sequences of European assistance to the military buildup of the People's Republic of China for peace and stability in that region, to the security interests of the United States and its friends and allies in the region, and, in particular, to the safety of United States Armed Forces whose presence in the region has been a decisive factor in ensuring peace and prosperity since the end of World War II; (5) hopes that a more intensive dialogue with Europe on this matter will clarify for United States friends and allies in Europe how their "non-lethal" arms transfers improve the force projection of the People's Republic of China, are far from benign, and enhance the prospects for the threat or use of force in resolving the status of Taiwan, a troubling pros pect made more ominous by recent adoption of a new law by the Chinese National People's Congress expressly authorizing the use of force; (6) also hopes that this dialogue will result in an important new consensus between the United States and its European partners on the need for co 25 ordinated policies which encourage the development 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 4 H.L.C. of democracy in the People's Republic of China and which discourage, not assist, China's unjustified military buildup and pursuit of weapons that threat en its neighbors; (7) however, deeply regrets that none of the European friends and allies of the United States who have been transferring arms to the People's Re public of China has announced a cessation or even a temporary halt to those transfers while this new dialogue with the United States ensues, and notes with concern that such European friends and allies have provided little, if any, transparency to the United States Government into the full range and capabilities of all of the armaments and related technology that they have transferred to date and continue even now to do so; (8) is further troubled by public reports describing well known European companies as suppliers to weapons programs of the People's Republic of China, who are also participants in numerous sensitive United States Government weapons programs, and the increased risks of diversion of United States weapons technology to China inherent in such an undesirable situation; and |