TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys called for closer cooperation with Taiwan during a Hudson Institute discussion on Monday.

“We have good exchange(s) in different areas, but we have to build strategic partnerships,” Budrys said, emphasizing in particular fields targeted by authoritarian regimes, such as security.

Budrys said he could not imagine a major Indo-Pacific conflict having no immediate impacts in Europe and vice versa. A confrontation between NATO and Russia would encourage senior Chinese officials to “achieve their results” in the Indo-Pacific, he said.

Europeans also need to do more to bolster deterrence, Budrys said, adding that without deterrence, you cannot have peace.

The foreign minister suggested Taiwan and other nations could learn from Lithuania’s whole-of-society approach to civil defense. “What we are doing in Lithuania is something that everyone else needs to be prepared (for),” he said. Lithuania had been inspired by Finland’s Cold War–era planning against the Soviet Union and built upon it, he said.

Lithuania has conducted mobilization drills, tabletop exercises, and talks with private companies and industries to find ways to counter a potential Russian attack or resist a blockade, Budrys said.

Taiwan established a Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee last year to maintain government operations during national emergencies or natural disasters. During the Tung Hsin 35 mobilization exercise held alongside Han Kuang 41, the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency issued call-up orders to approximately 22,000 reservists.

Civil groups such as Kuma Academy have also conducted exercises simulating wartime disasters and provided residents with emergency response training.