U.S. senators introduce resolution to support Lithuania-Taiwan ties

Two ranking U.S. senators on Friday introduced a resolution to support Lithuania’s efforts to strengthen its ties with Taiwan at a time when China has stepped up pressure against the Baltic state for treating Taipei in a way that offends Beijing.

U.S. Republican Senator Jim Risch, also a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, chair of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, jointly proposed the resolution, which aims to raise the U.S. Congress’s support for Lithuania’s move to forge closer relationships with Taiwan.

The resolution says it commends Lithuania for strengthening ties with Taiwan, recognizes the bold actions Lithuania has taken to highlight the malign actions of China, and encourages nations around the world to support Lithuania and confront Chinese coercion.

“On July 20, 2021, the government of Lithuania announced the opening of a Taiwan Representative Office in its capital city of Vilnius. Since that courageous decision, Lithuania has faced unacceptable economic retaliation from China,” Risch said in a statement.

“This resolution sends a message that when our friends stand up to malign Chinese influence, the United States will support them. I applaud the Lithuanian government for refusing to allow its foreign policy to be dictated by outside powers, and I fully support all nations in strengthening relations with Taiwan,” Risch added.

In late September, Lithuania’s parliament passed a legal revision that gave the green light for the country to open a representative office in countries like Taiwan with which the Baltic state does not have formal diplomatic relations.

When the law amendment was passed, Aušrine Armonaite, Lithuania’s economy and innovation minister had said the move by the parliament will allow the country to explore overseas business opportunities by forging closer economic ties with countries such as Taiwan.

Armonaite said the representative office is expected to be opened in early 2022.

In addition, Taipei has also announced a plan to open a representative office in Vilnius which will bear the word “Taiwanese” in its name.

The office’s name differs from that used by Taiwan’s other foreign missions in countries with which it does not have diplomatic relations. The names of Taiwan’s representative offices in most countries are typically called “Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.”

Beijing, which sees Taiwan and mainland China as part of one country, strongly objects to Taiwan being treated as a separate nation, including in name, seeing such actions as a violation of its “one China principle” and potentially jeopardizing its hopes of unifying with Taiwan one day.

Beijing has tried to impose a political cost on Baltic state for its decision to allow the use of “Taiwanese” in the name of Taiwan’s office, seeing such moves as encouraging Taipei to pursue formal independence. It has blocked some exports from Lithuania from entering China and has recalled its ambassador from the country.

The resolution proposed by the two U.S. lawmakers is the latest effort by Washington to support Lithuania’s ties with Taiwan.

At the end of August, U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken called Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, describing the U.S.’ support for the Baltic state’s ties with Taiwan as “ironclad.”

In September, Blinken met with visiting Gabrielius, saying the U.S. stands together with Lithuania against economic coercion from China, while Senator Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also mentioned the Baltic state’s courage to strengthen ties with Taiwan when he talked to Gabrielius.

The resolution asserted that China has regularly used its economic power to pressure Taiwan’s allies to cut their ties with Taiwan. It cited the decisions by two former allies of Taiwan, Solomon Islands and Kiribati, to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing in 2019 as an example.

Several other countries have also done the same in recent years, drawn by the desire to boost trade and economic relations with China and attracted by promises from Beijing.

Taiwan now has only 15 formal diplomatic allies, although it maintains unofficial but close ties with many other countries.

The resolution added China has also blocked Taiwan from meaningful participation in international organizations with the goal of diplomatically isolating Taiwan.

The two U.S. lawmakers praised Lithuania for standing up against China’s pressure and encouraged enterprises in the Baltic state to seek business opportunities outside China.

“China’s efforts to spread its influence across democracies in Eastern Europe are concerning, and the United States stands in solidarity with Lithuania against China’s abuse. Lithuania’s resolve to stand up for human rights and against economic encroachment by China is commendable,” Shaheen said in the statement.

“I’m proud to lead this bipartisan resolution with Senator Risch to strengthen U.S. support to Lithuania and Taiwan against Chinese economic manipulation.”

The resolution only needs approval from the Senate to pass as it is a way for Congress to express its opinion, and is not binding on the executive branch of government.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel