Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that “three employees of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China have been declared undesirable in the country for conduct in violation of the Vienna Convention and the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.”
The ministry did not comment on what specific actions led to such a decision. The justification reads that the measures were taken “taking into account the information provided by the competent authorities” and that these persons acted in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of the Vienna Convention.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also claims that it has provided the Chinese side with an interim solution that guarantees the continuation of the main consular, visa and administrative functions of diplomatic missions in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Special Missions.
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AFP speculates that the decision is most likely related to the break in two communications cables in the Baltic Sea, including one running from the Swedish island of Gotland to Lithuania.
In this case, suspicion was directed at the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3, which tracking services said had passed over the cable around the time it was severed.
However, China denied reports that the Chinese government may have had any involvement in the incident, saying on Friday that it was “ready to cooperate” with the investigation.
As AFP recalls, relations between Vilnius and China were already strained in 2021, when Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open an unofficial embassy in the island's name. This was a departure from common diplomatic practice of using the capital's name, Taipei, to avoid offending China, which claims the island as part of its territory.
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Stockholm has “sent a formal request to China for cooperation with the Swedish authorities to explain what happened,” according to the Swedish head of government, who organized the conference.
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