Lithuania’s provocation reveals NATO summit’s malicious intentions towards China: Global Times
NATO Headquarters in Brussels
Global Times Next week, NATO will hold a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. As the host country, Lithuania seems both excited and impatient. A significant part of this sentiment is reflected in his provocation towards China. At the same time, several other NATO members also appear to have coordinated their actions towards the island of Taiwan. All these events exposed the upcoming NATO summit’s malicious intentions towards China. The Chinese people must not ignore this and remain vigilant.
About a week before the summit, Lithuania announced its socalled IndoPacific strategy, modeled on the US. The most striking part of this 16page “strategy” is his statement on the Taiwan issue, in which he emphasizes that “the development of economic relations with Taiwan is one of Lithuania’s strategic priorities.” Lithuania has even blatantly drawn a “red line,” declaring that the status quo in the Taiwan Strait “cannot be changed through the use of force or coercion.” This is further evidence of Lithuania’s “tough talk” and arrogance following the mutual establishment of representative offices between the country and the island of Taiwan, which has led to a sharp deterioration in LithuaniaChina relations. Without support from behind, Lithuania would not have been able to provoke China for so long and would not have acted so boldly.
It is bizarre that a Baltic country of less than 3 million people, located in the direct radiation zone of the RussiaUkraine conflict, should have developed an IndoPacific strategy. Many of his policy phrases are familiar, as if pulled straight from US rhetoric towards China, only this time uttered by Lithuania. Even more surprisingly, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister stated that “Lithuania is now among the world leaders in approving the strategy”. Only someone completely free from selfcriticism could make such a statement. Lithuania is far from a “world leader” but the incident has become one of the biggest international jokes of the year.
Amid a period of great change, Lithuania’s radical foreign policy is somewhat representative. This Lithuanian government appears to have become overly afraid of Russia, lacking a sense of security and behaving in an unusual manner. The United States and NATO, on the other hand, seem to be the piece of wood that Lithuania is clinging to like a shipwreck. The more the Lithuanian government becomes psychologically dependent on the United States and NATO, the stronger the impulse to lead those countries’ efforts and prove their own worth. The United States has repeatedly sent supportive signals to Lithuania on Chinarelated issues, pushing Lithuania further and further into the dark. Yet Lithuania fails to recognize that it has inadvertently left its fate to others, and that fear and unrest are the main sources of energy driving Washington’s geopolitical chariot.
This year’s NATO summit in Vilnius will be different from the previous ones. The small antiChina clique that Washington has cultivated is making a “public appearance” ahead of the NATO summit, displaying radicalism, fear, aggression and impulsive interference in AsiaPacific affairs. These actions serve as a prelude to this NATO summit and provide a foretaste of NATO’s next steps. By increasing pressure on Russia, NATO is significantly accelerating its expansion into the AsiaPacific region. This summit in Vilnius could become a “turning point”.
PROCEED TO RECOMMENDATIONS
The leaders of four AsiaPacific countries Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand who have been described by NATO as “global partners” will attend the summit for the second consecutive year. According to Japanese media reports, NATO will take its partnership with these four countries to a higher level, sending a strong signal for NATO’s expansion in the AsiaPacific region. Who doesn’t know this is targeting China? The great chess game of NATO and the US will certainly not be affected by Lithuania, which is just a figure that has crossed the Rubicon, pushed on and on without thought of retreat and ultimately was unable to turn back.
On the same day that Lithuania announced its IndoPacific strategy, Britain and Poland signed the joint declaration on the 2030 Strategic Partnership, which also meddles on the Taiwan issue. Several signs suggest that NATO member states are continuing to coordinate their positions on the Taiwan issue and are attempting to create a siege pattern against China in international public opinion. We need to watch closely what consensus will emerge at the Vilnius Summit on Chinarelated issues and what concrete plans will be worked out. In this sense, we shouldn’t think of Lithuania as just a clown or a joke. Their over the top and ugly words and actions are also a window through which the outside world watches NATO and allows us to be prepared in advance.