onsdag 19. januar 2022

Slovenia considers following Lithuania’s lead in building ties with Taiwan 2

Slovenia and Taiwan are working on “exchanging representatives”, Prime Minister Janez Janša has announced, criticising China’s response to Taiwan’s decision to open a diplomatic office in Vilnius. The comments come as the EU is still struggling to find a unified message on China’s coercive trade measures against Lithuania, which faces mounting direct and indirect pressure in terms of trade. The exchange of representatives between Taiwan and Slovenia would not occur at the level of embassies but “at the same level that many EU countries already have”, Janša told Indian broadcaster Doordarshan in a recent interview.

Janša said Slovenia would support any sovereign decision of the Taiwanese people: “If they want to join China [...] without any pressure, military intervention, blackmailing or strategic cheating as it is happening in Hong Kong currently, we will support it.”