The foreign ministers of Australia and Lithuania yesterday agreed to step up cooperation on strategic challenges, in particular pressures from China.
Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, met at Parliament House in Canberra.
Australian exporters have lost tens of billions of US dollars to official and unofficial Chinese trade barriers covering coal, wine, beef, crayfish and barley that have coincided with deteriorating relations with Beijing.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Lithuania drew Beijing’s ire after breaking with diplomatic custom by agreeing that Taiwan’s office in its capital, Vilnius, would bear the name Taiwan instead of Taipei.
“For quite a while, Australia was probably one of the main examples where China is using economy and trade as a political instrument or, one might say, even as a political weapon,” Landsbergis told a news briefing with Payne.
“Now Lithuania joins this exclusive club ... but it is apparent that we’re definitely not the last ones,” he added.
Payne said she agreed with Landsbergis on the importance of like-minded countries working together with a consistent approach to maintaining the international rules-based order, free and open trade, transparency, security and stability.
“There are many colleagues with whom the foreign minister [Landsbergis] and I work and engage on these issues ... the more I think we are sending the strongest possible message about our rejection of coercion and our rejection of authoritarianism,” Payne said.
Landsbergis welcomed Australia to WTO consultations over a complaint by the EU accusing Beijing of holding up goods — both from member nation Lithuania and from EU companies that use Lithuanian components — at China’s borders.
“We need to remind countries like China or any other country that would wish to use trade as a weapon that like-minded countries across the globe ... have tools and regulations that help withstand the coercion and not to give in to ... political and economic pressures,” Landsbergis said.
Lithuania’s first embassy in the 31-year history of bilateral ties opened in Canberra yesterday. Australia plans to open a trade office in Lithuania soon.
Payne told the news briefing that Australia is not looking at renaming Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the country and remains committed to its “one China” policy.
Payne said she had not held any talks with Taiwan about the possibility of changing the name of its representative office in Australia.
“No discussions of that nature,” she said. “Australia remains committed to our one China policy.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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