Anti-Secession Law
During a state visit to the People's Republic of China on April 21, 2005 Chirac's Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin lent support to the new Anti-Secession Law, which justified an invasion of Taiwan by the PRC in the event of a declaration of Taiwan independence, and continued to push for a lift of the European Union arms embargo against China. France's position was seen as attempting to aid China in altering the balance of power against the U.S. in East Asia, in which the control of Taiwan is of utmost importance. This drew widespread condemnation from the U.S. which responded by threatening sanctions against the EU unless the embargo was continued.