Taiwan lauds Lithuania's 'courageous' stance amid diplomatic row with China

TAIPEI: Taiwan on Wednesday lauded Lithuania for what it called a "courageous and principled stance" after the Baltic nation said it is determined to pursue mutually beneficial ties with the self-ruled island despite growing Chinese pressure.

Taking to Twitter, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said Lithuania and Taiwan will continue working together to safeguard freedom and democracy for the benefit of "our citizens".

"We applaud Lithuania's courageous and principled stance on Taiwan. Friendship, cooperation and respect are the bedrock of positive international engagement. As forces for good, we'll continue working together to safeguard freedom and democracy for the benefit of our citizens," the ministry tweeted.

We applaud #Lithuania's courageous & principled stance on #Taiwan. Friendship, cooperation & respect are the bedrock of positive international engagement. As forces for good, we'll continue working together to safeguard freedom & democracy for the benefit of our citizens. https://t.co/gUpT4RD85T

— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) (@MOFA_Taiwan) August 11, 2021

This comes after the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in response to China's decision to recall its envoy over Vilnius' plan to open a Taiwan representative office.

In July, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu announced that Taiwan would open a representative office in Vilnius.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday strongly opposed Vilnius' decision saying "the government "decided to recall the Chinese ambassador from Lithuania and asked the Lithuanian government to recall its ambassador from China".

Lithuania does not yet have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but it maintains increasingly friendly relations with Taipei.

Vilnius has been an increasingly vocal critic of China's actions towards Taiwan, as well as in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday strongly opposed Vilnius' decision saying "the government "decided to recall the Chinese ambassador from Lithuania and asked the Lithuanian government to recall its ambassador from China".

Reacting to China's decision, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said: "While regretting this move of China, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry takes this opportunity to reiterate that in line with the One-China principle Lithuania is determined to pursue mutually beneficial ties with Taiwan like many other countries in the European Union and the rest of the world do."

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Tensions between China and Lithuania have escalated in recent months. In May, Lithuania pulled out of China's 17+1 cooperation forum with central and eastern European states.

Meanwhile, Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has even urged other EU member countries to follow suit amid worsening ties between the 27-member bloc and China.

In May, the Lithuanian parliament termed China's treatment of its Uyghur minority as "genocide", and voted to call for a UN probe of the internment camps in the country's northwest region of Xinjiang.