China downgrades ties with Lithuania over Taiwan office

Director of The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania Eric Huang (third right) with staff members at the office in Vilnius. Pic/AFP

Furious with Lithuania for permitting Taiwan to open a representative office, China on Sunday downgraded diplomatic ties with it to the level of charge d'affaires, a move that could further damage Beijing's relations with the European Union, as the tiny Baltic nation with less than 3 million population is an influential member of the bloc.

"There is only one China in the world and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Regrettably, Lithuania has chosen to ignore China's solemn position and to disregard the broader interests of bilateral ties and the basic norms governing international relations. It has allowed the establishment in Lithuania of the ‘Representative Office' bearing the name of Taiwan, thus creating an egregious precedent in the world," it said.

"The Chinese government, out of the need to safeguard national sovereignty and basic norms governing international relations, has no choice but to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Lithuania to the charge d'affaires level. The Lithuanian government must bear all the ensuing consequences," it said. Charge d'affaires means the embassy will be headed by the chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador.

Chinese planes in Taiwan air space

Taipei on Sunday detected nine Chinese planes, including two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers crossing Taiwan's air defence identification zone.

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