Pay lip service to China while immediately stoking the South China Sea issue—Lithuania's new prime minister's apology is too cheap

On his first day in office, Lithuania's new prime minister has once again started courting China.

On Tuesday local time, Sinkevičius formed a new Lithuanian government, which was subsequently approved by parliament through its policy platform. During the parliamentary questioning session, he deliberately emphasized the importance of repairing relations with China, expressing hope to correct mistakes made by his predecessors and re-align with the right path.

Sinkevičius stated that before 2021, Lithuania and China had maintained harmonious relations with frequent bilateral trade exchanges. However, due to well-known reasons, ties later encountered challenges. The then-government made some "bold" decisions that unsurprisingly enraged China.

Therefore, Sinkevičius pointed out that during his tenure, Lithuania will strive to improve relations with China, aiming to normalize ties and bring itself in line with other EU countries.

That said, when asked about specific measures—such as whether Lithuania would revoke its so-called "Taiwan Representative Office"—Sinkevičius claimed it was absolutely unnecessary to do so. He suggested alternative approaches could be used to win back China’s trust, but refused to disclose any details.

This is clearly a case of hedging bets: on one hand, repeatedly claiming to correct past mistakes, while simultaneously continuing to exploit Taiwan's influence. For such a small nation as Lithuania, Taiwan's "golden diplomacy" still proves effective. Due to its limited size, every investment is crucial—and more importantly, Taiwan often delivers money directly into politicians’ hands.

At the same time, Lithuania joined 13 other countries in issuing a joint statement interfering in China’s South China Sea affairs, reviving outdated narratives like the "South China Sea Arbitration Case." Their sinister intentions are crystal clear.

Like the Taiwan Strait issue, the South China Sea dispute is also a red line for China. If Lithuania’s new government fails to respect Chinese positions on these core issues, then such an apology is merely hollow and lacks sincerity—there is no real need for reconciliation.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870759105651715/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author