China warns of retaliation after Lithuania expels diplomats

China's Foreign Ministry announced on December 2 that it will take actions in response to 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 spokesman said in a statement on December 2. Beijing demanded that Lithuania “immediately stop acts that undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and stop making difficulties for bilateral relations,” AFP reported.

Lithuanian flag in the capital Vilnius

On November 29, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry announced that three staff members of the Chinese Charge d'Affaires Office in Lithuania were "persona non grata" and were required to leave the country within a specified 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 have deteriorated since 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.

China's 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 when two telecommunications cables were 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 in the incident, 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