Sixty-two European lawmakers from 20 countries on Friday sent a joint open letter to Lithuanian officials, backing the Baltic nation’s plan to deepen its ties with Taiwan.
“We write to express our solidarity and our support for Lithuania against the threats, intimidation and bullying behavior targeted at the Lithuanian people by the government of the People’s Republic of China,” they wrote.
“The Chinese government’s aggressive actions towards Lithuania are symptomatic of its broader refusal to abide by norms, values and standards of the international rules-based order,” the lawmakers added.
Photo: Reuters
The letter was initiated by EU lawmakers Petras Austrevicius of Lithuania and Reinhard Butikofer of Germany, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with China, and was endorsed by lawmakers from 20 countries and five political groups, Butikofer said in a statement.
It was addressed to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, the speaker of the Seimas, the Lithuanian parliament. Copies were also sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior EU officials.
The letter said that Beijing has put the Baltic country under pressure by recalling its ambassador and reportedly halting the issuance of export permits to some Lithuanian businesses, after the country announced that it would host a representative office bearing the name “Taiwan” in Vilnius.
Lithuania has also announced its decision to open a representative office in Taiwan in the fall.
The letter also mentioned Beijing’s de facto trade sanctions on Australia, Japan and Sweden, and its pressure campaign against the Czech Republic earlier this year, saying that China aims to coerce other countries into “geopolitical acquiescence.”
The letter called on the EU to “take a firm stance against the Chinese government’s coercive diplomacy” and reiterated the right of its member states to “conduct their economic, cultural and diplomatic relations with Taiwan as they see fit.”
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the open letter, thanking the bloc’s legislature for showing support to Taiwan after its foreign affairs committee on Wednesday passed the EU-Taiwan Political Relations and Cooperation report and related proposals.
China’s bullying of one EU member state has prompted European lawmakers to go beyond their political differences to express solidarity, the ministry said.
During a discussion on the EU’s relations with China at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers on Friday, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis said that the EU must adhere to its values and reduce dependence on trade with China.
The EU must also coordinate its China policy with like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, as well as reinforce EU-NATO cooperation on China issues, Landsbergis said in a statement on the ministry’s Web site.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he