China has condemned Lithuania’s recent decision to expel three Chinese diplomats, calling it an unjustified and provocative act that could worsen diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
In a statement on Monday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson claimed that Lithuania’s actions were “without any reason” and accused the Baltic country of undermining China’s sovereignty.
The move comes amid an investigation into the involvement of a Chinese vessel in severing two undersea data cables in the Baltic Sea, including one linking Lithuania and Sweden. The Swedish government has asked China for assistance in determining the cause of the cables’ damage.
On Friday, Lithuania declared “three members of the non-accredited staff” at the Chinese diplomatic mission persona non grata, ordering their departure within a week. The Lithuanian foreign ministry refrained from sharing further details, citing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and other international legal norms. The ministry also indicated that decisions regarding the status of other Chinese diplomatic personnel in Lithuania would be made “in the near future.”
The spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said, “China calls on Lithuania to immediately stop undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stop creating difficulty for bilateral relations,” adding that Beijing “reserves the right to take countermeasures.”
Neither country’s foreign ministry addressed the issue of the Chinese ship in the Baltic in their statements.
