Adviser to the former US president: what the Biden administration can do to defend Lithuania from China
Lithuania, which has been angry with Beijing, has been bowed for some time both in the Chinese media, where there are outbursts of defamatory epithets, contempt and threats, and in the Western press, where the country attacked by Beijing is receiving support.
Having opened a representative office on behalf of Taiwan, Vilnius will not only receive rhetorical flashes and warnings about its painful consequences, but has already felt the first parts of it.
Beijing does not publicly acknowledge, unpublished, but real and accelerating Chinese sanctions on Lithuanian business, its products and strict warnings for countries and companies that do not want to have in China to terminate cooperation with Lithuania have already become a reality. While China is still sending a signal to Lithuania to change its mind, and Lithuania is debating whether its own decision was wise, there are gradually increasing voices in the West calling for support for Lithuania.
The influential The Wall Street Journal has devoted two articles to Lithuania over the past two weeks, one of which, led by the editorial board, was eloquent and unequivocal: China is intimidating Lithuania, the Baltic state needs US and EU support to resist China.
In another article, the quote of the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis about the canary in a coal mine is chosen: such an allegory about the canary, from the 19th century. The coal mine was chosen at random because of the ability of these birds to detect and warn of a gas leak threatening a fire faster than coal miners – Lithuania was one of the first to join the open fight with Beijing.
Whether it was a well-thought-out, timely solution based on values or ambition, at least the foreign media is receiving less attention. The message is different: Lithuania is a member of NATO and the EU, so the influential members of these organizations should not shy away, defending the ally not only in words.
One of the ways to do this in his commentary was proposed by Dov S. Zakheim, a senior official who had worked in several US presidential administrations and later in influential analytical centers and was active before them. Delphi said the US could and should take more action, but will it do so?