Lithuania says it coordinated Taiwan office name proposal with US

Lithuania’s proposals to change the name of Taiwan’s representative office in Vilnius were discussed with US officials, President Gitanas Nausėda’s national security adviser Deividas Matulionis said on Tuesday, LRT reported. He said the decision was Lithuania’s to make and that he hoped discussions with Taiwan and China would resolve the issue this year.

Matulionis was responding to statements by Taiwanese foreign ministry officials that Taiwan does not intend to change the office’s name. He said he hoped for a more balanced response from Taiwan and that Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry was seeking a solution that would not come at the expense of relations with Taiwan.

The debate resurfaced after news outlet Delfi reported on Monday that Lithuania had proposed in September that Taiwan change the office’s name. The reported offer included several bilateral economic agreements and the creation of a special envoy for Taiwan at the Foreign Ministry.

Lithuania’s government is seeking to restore diplomatic relations with China, which views the office’s current name as a move by Vilnius to help Taiwan establish statehood. Matulionis said Lithuania would have further contacts with both Taiwan and China.

Adviser opposes diverting defence funds

Matulionis also said the presidential office opposed allocating defence funding to areas not directly related to defence, such as the interior affairs system. Some politicians have argued that part of next year’s proposed defence spending could go to public safety officials under an agreement reached at the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague. The agreement, they say, allows 1.5% of the agreed 5% of gross domestic product to cover defence-related expenses beyond direct military spending.

Matulionis said Lithuania’s 5% target was based on its own calculations, not the Hague decision, and warned that diverting funds could mean the country failed to meet its commitments. He said funding for internal security services was important but should not be set against the defence budget.

The government’s draft budget proposes allocating 5% of GDP, or more than 4.8 billion euros, to defence next year. The increased spending in recent years is linked to plans to develop a military division by 2030 and prepare for the deployment of a German brigade in 2027.