Taiwan says no third party influences Taipei-Vilnius cooperation

Taiwan’s foreign ministry has stated that no third party influences the cooperation between Taipei and Vilnius, according to a report by BNS.

“Taiwan and Lithuania are close partners. We work together to create economic benefits. No third party influences our friendly cooperation,” Hsiao Kuang-wei, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s foreign ministry, told reporters on Tuesday.

Hsiao added that Taiwan consistently supports international relations based on democratic values, the rule of law, and transparent dialogue. He reassured that Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with Lithuania and like-minded countries, guided by mutual respect and the goal of expanding mutually beneficial bilateral relations.

Last week, Lithuania’s foreign ministry informed BNS that mutual negotiations on an economic cooperation action plan with Taiwan had been temporarily suspended due to ongoing “internal political changes” in the country. The talks are expected to resume once a new government begins work and its program is approved.

Economic ties with Taiwan were anticipated to expand in 2021 after the opening of the Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius. However, Lithuanian officials have recently expressed dissatisfaction with the level of investment from Taipei. The establishment of the office strained Lithuania’s relations with China, as Beijing viewed it as Lithuania’s support for Taiwan’s efforts to act as an independent state. In other countries, such offices operate under the name Taipei.

Lithuania’s relationship with China has been widely discussed amid government changes and as Mindaugas Sinkevičius prepares to take the prime minister’s post. Last week, a new coalition agreement among social democrats, democrats, and the “farmers” party included a commitment to continue efforts to normalize diplomatic relations with China to the level of other EU member states, emphasizing reciprocity, Lithuania’s sovereignty, the EU’s common position, and national security interests.

Remigijus Motuzas, chairman of the Seimas Foreign Affairs Committee, stated last week that Lithuania had agreed to allow China to reopen a temporary chargé d’affaires office in Vilnius instead of its former embassy. In 2021, China unilaterally downgraded its diplomatic representation from ambassadors to chargé d’affaires, renaming its embassy in Lithuania as the “Chargé d’Affaires Office” and similarly renaming Lithuania’s representation in Beijing. Lithuania refused to recognize such representations and declined to issue new accreditations to Chinese diplomats seeking to serve in the “Chargé d’Affaires Office,” resulting in no Chinese diplomats remaining in Lithuania since last May.

Following recent public discussions in Lithuania, China reiterated its openness to dialogue on restoring diplomatic relations but emphasized the need for Vilnius to take urgent and resolute actions to rectify the situation.