China's Foreign Ministry announced on December 2 that it would take countermeasures against Lithuania's expulsion of three staff members of the Chinese Charge d'Affaires Office in Lithuania.
“China strongly condemns and opposes this provocative and irresponsible action,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement on December 2. Beijing demands that Lithuania “immediately stop acts that undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and stop making things difficult for bilateral relations,” AFP reported.
Lithuanian flag in the capital Vilnius
On November 29, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry announced that three employees of the Chinese Charge d’Affaires Office in Lithuania were “persona non grata” and had to leave the country within a specified period of time. Vilnius did not provide further details, other than to say that the three had violated Lithuanian law and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Relations between Lithuania and China deteriorated in 2021, after Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a diplomatic mission in Vilnius called the "Taiwan Representative Office in Lithuania". Other Taiwanese representative offices in Europe and the US use the name Taipei. Beijing downgraded diplomatic relations with Vilnius following the incident.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on December 2 urged Lithuania to abide by the existing international consensus, adhere to the one-China principle and promote conditions for the normalization of China-Lithuania relations.
Lithuanian Defense Ministry calls for not using Chinese phones
In a separate development, Lithuania is working with Sweden and other Nordic countries to investigate the incident in November of two telecommunications cables being severed in Swedish internal waters, including one running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania. The Chinese ship Yi Peng 3 is suspected of being involved, with shipping tracking sites saying it was passing through the cables at the time they were damaged. China on November 29 denied any involvement in the incident and said it was ready to cooperate with the investigation.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-quoc-canh-bao-dap-tra-vu-lithuania-truc-xuat-nhan-vien-ngoai-giao-185241202152122187.htm
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