Taiwan to use own name for Lithuania office

Taiwan maintains de facto diplomatic relations with dozens of nations

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan on Tuesday announced it will set up an office in Lithuania using its colloquial name in a significant diplomatic departure that is bound to rile China.

Taiwan’s first diplomatic outpost in Europe in 18 years will be called the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania, not the Taipei Office.

Foreign minister Joseph Wu called the move “very significant.”

“Lithuania is a good partner for Taiwan who shares the same values for freedom and democracy,” Wu said at a virtual briefing, adding both are on the “strategic frontline of defending democratic systems.”

The announcement is the latest in growing signs that some Baltic and central European countries are seeking closer relations with Taiwan, even if that results in angering China.

Beijing claims the island and has vowed to one day retake it — by force if needed.

The self-ruled democracy of some 23 million people, known officially as the Republic of China, is only recognized as a country by 15 other nations.

China tries to keep Taipei isolated on the world stage and balks at any official use of the word “Taiwan” lest it lend the island a sense of international legitimacy.

But Taiwan maintains de facto diplomatic relations with dozens of nations through its Taipei Representative Offices.

In May, Lithuania announced it was quitting China’s 17+1 cooperation forum with central and eastern European states, calling it “divisive.”

It has since pledged to donate some 20,000 coronavirus vaccines to Taiwan and open its own representative office on the island.