BBC: EU confronts Burma at ASEM Talks Last Updated: Friday, 6 May, 2005, 10:45 GMT 11:45 UK EU confronts Burma at Asem talks BBC, Friday, 6 May, 2005, 10:45 GMT 11:45 UK Pro-democracy protesters held a rally ahead of the meeting A senior EU delegation has held a rare meeting with the foreign minister of the Burmese military government. The EU presented Nyan Win with a list of political detainees it wants to see released, including the country's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The talks were held on the sidelines of a two-day Asia-Europe meeting (Asem) in the Japanese city of Kyoto. Other topics on the Asem agenda include the stand-off over North Korea's nuclear ambitions and oil price rises. Beijing is also hoping to use the summit to persuade the EU to lift its arms embargo against China. The annual Asem summit is supposed to improve understanding between Europe and East Asia, and in the spirit of the talks the EU agreed to a meeting between EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win. The EU has long criticised Burma's human rights record, its failure to introduce democratic reforms and its detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. During the talks, Ms Ferrero-Waldner pressed for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. She said the detainees should be released "not just out of justice, but out of humanitarian concern, as many on the list are ill," according to Ms Ferrero-Waldner's spokeswoman, Emma Udwin. Foreign Minister Nyan Win "undertook to look into" the list, Ms Udwin said. The EU currently maintains some of the toughest sanctions in the world against the Burmese government. But that policy has so far produced little progress, and according to the BBC correspondent in Tokyo, Jonathan Head, officials hope that dialogue may succeed where sanctions have failed. There is some urgency because Burma is due to take over the rotating chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) next year. That risks damaging relations between the EU, the US and their South East Asian trading partners, unless there is meaningful political change inside Burma. China-Japan talks Other bilateral talks are also being held on the sidelines of the Asem gathering. A meeting between delegates from Japan, China and South Korea, scheduled for Saturday, is being closely watched, due to the recent anti-Japan protests in the other two nations. China, meanwhile, wants to use to talks to persuade the EU to lift its arms ban against Beijing. China is anxious for the ban to be lifted before the rotating EU presidency shifts from Luxembourg to Britain in July, as London is seen as less enthusiastic about the idea. Most EU countries back lifting the embargo, but Tokyo and Washington are opposed to ending the ban. A Japanese official said on Friday that Tokyo was opposed to the plan as it could threaten the stability of East Asia. Ms Ferrero-Waldner said she could give no timeframe for when the embargo would be lifted, but added that China's human rights record would be a factor in making the decision. ~