To Mindaugas Sinkevičius, Prime Minister of Lithuania, and Gitanas Nausėda, President of Lithuania, Speaker of the Seimas Juozas Olekas, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys and Minister for National Defence Robertas Kaunas, the letter praises Lithuania’s „friendship and steadfast support for freedom throughout the world“ and urges the country to continue to maintain relations with Taiwan resolutely.
„Ever since Lithuania overthrew communist rule, our countries have stood together in defence of freedom and democracy in Europe, the Western Hemisphere and the Indo-Pacific region.
Indeed, in the face of intimidation and coercion by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), our countries have stood united in support of a free and democratic Taiwan,“ state US Congress members Mario Diaz-Balart, Ami Bera, Andy Barr and Greg Stanton in a joint letter.
Praise for the decision to establish a Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania
The letter commends Lithuania’s decision in 2022 to withdraw from the so-called ‘17+1’ format, which, according to the US Congress members, China uses to ‘divide the transatlantic Alliance’, and Lithuania’s leadership in persuading the other Baltic states to do the same.
Particular attention is drawn to Lithuania’s call in 2021 to establish a Taiwanese representative office under precisely this name, for which Lithuania is described as „a strong leader among European Union countries in opposing the influence of autocrats.“
Members of the US Congress nevertheless emphasise that pressure from China has not ceased, and urge continued resolute resistance to it.
„Whilst we understand that the People’s Republic of China continues to pressure countries against maintaining any relations with Taiwan, we respectfully urge you to consider the importance of maintaining relations with those with whom we share our democratic values,“ the letter emphasises.
The authors of the letter also point out that Beijing continues to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, which runs counter to European interests.
„For these reasons, we respectfully urge you to continue boldly along this path and to maintain substantive relations with Taiwan, which has been a reliable and trusted partner of our countries for decades,“ the US Congress members conclude in the letter.
ELTA notes that the government programmes led by both Gintautas Paluckas and Inga Ruginienė provided for Lithuania to seek to develop economic and cultural ties with Taiwan further; however, this specific provision was not included in the government programme led by Mindaugas Sinkevičius.
This programme provides for the normalisation of diplomatic relations with China to the same level of diplomatic representation as that enjoyed by other European Union (EU) member states.
Following the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania at the end of 2021, relations between Vilnius and Beijing deteriorated significantly – Beijing regards Taiwan as a province of China, which has no right to establish representative offices in countries with which China maintains official relations. In response to Lithuania’s decision, China imposed severe diplomatic and economic sanctions on the country.
Consequently, in February 2022, the European Commission (EC) lodged a complaint against China with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – the EU claimed that China was engaging in discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania, as the trade restrictions, imposed ostensibly for hygiene reasons, reduced Lithuanian exports by 80 per cent that year.
However, last December the EU decided to withdraw its complaint from the WTO.
Amid tensions between Vilnius and Beijing, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also officially downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania.
China has regarded the democratically governed island as a separatist province since its secession in 1949 and seeks to reunite it with the mainland, by military force if necessary. In recent years, Beijing has significantly increased diplomatic and military pressure on the island. On the international stage, China is seeking to have Taiwan excluded from international organisations and forums, and to ensure that countries do not maintain diplomatic relations with it.