DEFENSE/Visiting MEP hints at potential arms sale policy change

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) Visiting Member of European Parliament (MEP) Reinhard Bütikofer told reporters in Taipei Wednesday that the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine could bring a change in Europe's weapons export policies.

Bütikofer, chairman of the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China, had been asked by Reuters if Europe should abandon its long-held reluctance to provide Taiwan with arms amid escalating cross-strait tensions.

Bütikofer responded by likening European democracies to "turtles."

"They don't move very fast. They don't change the direction suddenly. But once they get moving they're not easily stopped," he said.

The German MEP said that with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, "Europe has changed. My own country has changed [its policies on arms exports]."

"We used to have a very strict policy supported by all political parties across the spectrum, that we would never export arms into a region of tension or conflict."

Germany has since changed that policy and now it has become the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine worldwide and the largest supplier in Europe, he added.

"I believe that we will have to look at the new realities of international security and the future," he said.

However, Bütikofer also noted that he is not sure what Taiwan needs defensively though he has heard a lot of discussions of asymmetrical warfare during his Taiwan visit.

He is therefore not sure if the fighters and tanks Germany produces would be "exactly what Taiwan needs" for its defense, hinting that more discussions need to be made to first understand how to meet Taiwan's defensive needs.

Currently, Taiwan's main arms provider is the United States but the Netherlands and France previously supplied submarines, jets and frigates in the 1980s and '90s.

Bütikofer is leading a delegation from the European Parliament and German Bundestag and arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a four-day visit to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other high-level government officials, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Bütikofer said at Wednesday's press event that his delegation's visit is meant to show solidarity toward Taiwan among democracies.

"We strongly believe that it is important that 'Team Democracy' works together and that democracies have each other's back and show solidarity. We're here because we're very proud supporters of Taiwan's democracy," he said.

His delegation is also in Taiwan to learn from the latest developments in Taiwan's society, economy and politics and to seek opportunities for further collaboration, Bütikofer added.

According to MOFA, another member of his delegation is Heidi Hautala, the second sitting vice president of the European Parliament to ever visit Taiwan, after Nicola Beer in 2022.

The other members of the delegation are Agnieszka Brugger, vice chair of the German Greens parliamentary group; Till Steffen, deputy chairman of the German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group; and Boris Mijatovic, spokesperson for Human Rights and Humanitarian aid for the Alliance 90/the Greens Parliamentary Group, according to MOFA.