TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Lithuania prepares to host the NATO leaders summit it has released a document that identifies the development of economic relations with Taiwan as one of its strategic priorities.
Lithuania's Indo-Pacific Strategy was released on Wednesday (July 5), outlining a range of measures to deepen cooperation with 41 countries including Taiwan, China, Australia, New Zealand, India, and South Korea. The strategy will compliment NATO and EU efforts in the Indo-Pacific, according to the document.
NATO has increasingly sought a presence in the Indo-Pacific region as China grows in power. In May it confirmed plans to open a permanent liaison office in Japan.
The document also describes Taiwan, Japan, and Korea as potential priority markets for inward foreign investment and tourism, and Taiwan and Japan are listed as priority markets for the country’s agricultural exports.
“We will also strengthen our relations with Taiwan in the areas of advanced technology, research, trade, tourism, promoting investment and beyond,” the document says. It goes on to mention the development of the Lithuanian laser industry, an area in which the country signed an MOU with Taiwan in January.
An image on the cover of Lithuania's Indo-Pacific Strategy document. (Lithuania Ministry of Foreign Affairs image)
“The development of economic relations with Taiwan is one of Lithuania’s strategic priorities and a part of its economic diversification policy,” the document says.
In late March, the mayors of two Lithuanian cities traveled to Taiwan to meet Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), and discussed cooperating in technology-led urban development efforts.
The document also says that Chinese pressure on Taiwan helps to spread Russian disinformation, and that Lithuania “will make every effort to increase the number of operations and initiatives relating to resisting hostile narratives in the region.”
The document makes clear Lithuania’s opposition to China’s actions in the region, but also expresses the country’s commitment to the "one China policy." “It is crucial that the voice of the EU is unified in its relations with China, as well as in cooperating with the countries in the Indo-Pacific, so that we could abandon divisive formats and initiatives,” it says.
Lithuania has become increasingly vocal in its support of Taiwan in recent years, leading to economic sanctions from Beijing, though the country says this has not deterred it. “Unsuccessful attempts by China to exert economic and diplomatic pressure on Lithuania proves that a country can withstand economic blackmail if it has built up societal resilience and has reliable partners,” Lithuania’s foreign ministry said, per Politico.
