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World

China sanctions Lithuanian deputy minister for Taiwan visit

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The Lithuanian state emblem is seen at its embassy in Beijing, China December 15, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

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BEIJING, Aug 12 (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Friday it had imposed sanctions on Lithuanian Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Agne Vaiciukeviciute for visiting Taiwan, the latest development in Beijing’s diplomatic row with the European Union country.

The foreign ministry said China would also suspend engagement with Vaiciukeviciute’s ministry and cooperation on transportation with Lithuania, a small Baltic republic.

Lithuania’s Ministry of Transport and Communications said it regretted China’s announcement.

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“Beijing is choosing to continue and intensify the course of illegal actions against (an) EU member state,” the Lithuanian ministry said in a statement to Reuters.

“This is not only not conducive to the development of China’s relations with the democratic world, but also reverses Beijing’s own declared policy so far of not hindering the development of a mutually beneficial relationship with Taiwan, one of the world’s most progressive economies.”

China claims Taiwan as its territory and is against foreign politicians visiting the island. Democratically governed Taiwan rejects China’s claims.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the sanctions, saying they amounted to “irrational retaliation” by China.

“Taiwan vows to continue to do its best to assist Lithuania to counter the unreasonable and arbitrary suppression of the Chinese government,” the ministry said in a statement.

Lithuania’s recent bolstering of relations with Taiwan has infuriated Beijing and led to a fall in Lithuanian exports to China in the first quarter of this year to almost zero.

Vaiciukeviciute said on Twitter on Friday that she had visited three cities and two seaports and had 14 meetings in Taiwan over a five-day period.

“A productive week in Taiwan, looking for more ways of LT Transport cooperation with TW maritime, shipping and aviation companies,” she tweeted, referring to Lithuania and Taiwan by their abbreviations.

Vaiciukeviciute visited Taiwan days after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi did so. In response to Pelosi’s visit, China launched massive military drills around Taiwan, slapped sanctions on Pelosi and trade restrictions with Taiwan.

When Jovita Neliupsiene, Lithuania’s vice minister of the economy and innovation, visited Taipei in June, she said Lithuania planned to open a representative office in Taiwan in September.

Lithuania has come under sustained Chinese pressure to reverse a decision last year to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in the capital Vilnius under its own name.

China has downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania and pressured multinationals to sever ties with it.

In January, the EU launched a challenge at the World Trade Organization accusing China of discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania and arguing that this threatened the integrity of the bloc’s single market.

China said that it has always abided by WTO rules and that its problem with Lithuania is political, not economic, in nature.

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Reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing and Augustas Stankevicius in Vilnius; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Paul Simao and William Mallard

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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World

Lithuanian Citizens Pool $4.7M to Buy Advanced Drone for Ukraine’s Military

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Hundreds of Lithuanian citizens rallied together to raise nearly $5 million to purchase an advanced military drone for Ukraine to use in its ongoing war against Russia.

The fundraiser was completed in just three and a half days, and was largely comprised of small donations from ordinary Lithuanian citizens, Reuters reported Saturday, citing Laisves TV, a Lithuanian internet broadcaster that launched the effort. The money, a total of $4.7 million, will now be used to purchase a Bayraktar TB2 military drone, an unmanned aerial vehicle that has proven highly successful against Russian forces.

“This is the first case in history when ordinary people raise money to buy something like a Bayraktar. It is unprecedented, it is unbelievable,” Beshta Petro, Ukraine’s ambassador to Lithuania, told Laisves TV, according to Reuters.

Hundreds of Lithuanians rallied together to purchase an advanced military drone for Ukraine. Above, a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone flies in Northern Cyprus on December 16, 2019.
Birol BEBEK / AFP/Getty Images

Ukraine had purchased nearly two dozen of Bayraktar TB2 armed drones from the Turkish company Baykar in recent years, and received an additional 16 in early March. The drones have become legendary amongst the nation’s defense, and is even the subject of a folk song that claims the Bayraktar “makes ghosts out of Russian bandits,” according to The New Yorker.

Lithuania, a former Soviet Union state and NATO member, has been an outspoken critic of the invasion. Along with other Baltic states, it has expressed fears that Russia could expand the war into its own country, and has moved to ramp up security efforts in recent months.

Earlier this week, Lithuania’s foreign minister accused Moscow of committing “genocide,” and warned that if Ukraine were to give up territory to Russia to help reach peace, it could “normalize” what Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime is trying to accomplish. Several Lithuanians, who donated to help purchase the Bayraktar, said they were happy to help the Eastern European nation in its effort to end the bloody war.

“Before this war started, none of us thought that we would be buying guns. But it’s a normal thing now. Something must be done for the world to get better,” said 32-year-old Agne Belickaite, who sent 100 euros as soon as the fundraising launched on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

“I’ve been donating to buy guns for Ukraine for a while now. And will do so until the victory,” she added, while noting that she is motivated in part by fears that Russia could attack Lithuania.

The Russian invasion began more than three months ago, and so far resulted in the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian troops and civilians. However, the Russian military has been met with significant pushback, and has gained few military successes.

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World

China suspends Lithuanian beef, dairy, beer imports as Taiwan row grows

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A general view of the Lithuanian embassy in Beijing, China December 15, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

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BEIJING/VILNIUS, Feb 10 (Reuters) – China suspended imports of beef, dairy and beer from Lithuania this week, Lithuania’s veterinary control agency said on Thursday, amid a growing trade dispute over the Baltic nation’s relations with Taiwan.

China’s General Administration of Customs had informed the country it was halting the exports due to “lack of documentation”, the agency said in a statement.

It added that “this is first such notification we ever received, because the importing countries usually start by asking for any missing information”.

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The Chinese agency said earlier on Thursday it had stopped imports of Lithuanian beef but gave no specific reason.

Relations frayed after Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in its capital Vilnius last year, angering Beijing which regards the democratically-ruled island as its own territory. read more

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Wednesday during a visit to Australia that nations seeking to use trade as a retaliatory measure must be reminded that “like-minded countries have tools and regulations that help withstand the coercion”. read more

Britain said on Monday it will join the United States and Australia in backing an EU trade case against China at the World Trade Organization over Beijing’s alleged trade curbs on Lithuania.

The European Commission says overall exports from Lithuania, an EU member, to China fell 91% in December compared to the same month in 2020.

The Lithuanian agency said the country hasn’t exported food products, including beef, to China since early December 2021. It did not immediately give further details.

“As far as I know, the Chinese move does not create practical problems, because we do not export these products to China now. The exporters have moved on to other markets”, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told reporters on Thursday.

“If the problem is procedural and bureaucratic, as China says, then it will get solved very easily”, she added.

CORRECT ‘MISTAKES’

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian declined to elaborate on the beef suspension, but said Lithuania should correct its “mistakes”.

“What Lithuania should do is face up to facts, redress its own mistakes, and come back to the right track of adhering to the one China principle, instead of confusing right with wrong,” Zhao said, referring to China’s policy demanding countries recognise its claim to Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou condemned the latest Chinese move, calling it “unilateral” and “bullying” and the latest example of Beijing trying to change Lithuania’s foreign policy.

China is the world’s top importer of beef but shipments from Lithuania are minimal. It imported just 775 tonnes of beef from Lithuania in 2021, out of a total 2.36 million tonnes of beef imports that year, according to Chinese customs data.

Taiwan has stepped up its food imports from Lithuania to help ease the impact of Chinese curbs, most recently rum.

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Reporting by Dominique Patton in Beijing and Andrius Sytas in Vilnius
Additional reporting by Emily Chow in Beijing, Ben Blanchard in Taipei
Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Kim Coghill, Elaine Hardcastle and Frances Kerry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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