UK breaks EU rule, trains Chinese officer

LONDON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Britain broke European Union rules when it let a Chinese army officer study at an elite British army officer training academy, opposition Conservatives say.

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, famous for training Princes William and Harry, also trained Officer Cadet Liu Liu of China's People's Liberation Army in violation of EU rules banning military cooperation with China, The Sunday Times of London reported.

The People's Liberation Army is the world's largest armed forces operation, at more than 1.25 million members, and is increasingly seen by Washington as a major threat.

Liu, who trained alongside British army cadets, graduated last month.

A second People's Liberation Army officer is expected to join the new intake at Sandhurst this week, The Sunday Times reported.

The newspaper said the move would "infuriate" Washington, which has said a relaxation of the EU arms embargo to allow training would help China to work out ways of countering Western military doctrine.

The military-cooperation ban is part of a U.S. and EU arms embargo imposed after the June 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.