The foreign ministry has welcomed US and EU support for closer ties between Taiwan and Lithuania.
Ties between Taiwan and the Baltic nation have warmed significantly in recent months. Lithuania recently donated COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan, and the two countries now plan to exchange representative offices.
China has been particularly displeased by the fact that Taiwan’s office in Vilnius will be explicitly referred to as a Taiwan representative office, in place of the more euphemistic names Taiwanese offices in other countries typically have. China has recalled its ambassador to Vilnius in protest and demanded that Lithuania recall its ambassador from Beijing.
However, the US and EU have stood behind Lithuania’s decision to improve its ties with Taiwan. During a recent meeting with Lithuania’s foreign minister, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced support for Lithuania’s resistance to Chinese pressure due to its warming relationship with Taiwan.
The EU and European Parliament have likewise voiced their backing for Lithuania.
On Thursday, the foreign ministry said it is pleased to see democratic nations unite in defense of their right to deepen ties with whatever partners they see fit. It also said that Taiwan and Lithuania are already working closer together, having recently held a bilateral conference on business-to-business online trade.
In the future, the ministry says the two sides will also discuss training workers in the semiconductor industry, technological innovation, and the issue of illegal migration by refugees.