All the three Baltic countries have now withdrawn from being part of the China Cooperation Group after Estonia and Latvia quit the group on Thursday.
China’s recent growing aggression toward Taiwan was the reason why Estonia and Latvia both decided to quit. Both nations have received heavy flak after the move from the Chinese Government.
A year back, Lithuania had decided to step back from the China Cooperation Group after the opening of the de facto Taiwanese Embassy in Vilnius. The decision had come with anger from the Chinese authorities as well as accusations of violating the One-China policy towards Lithuania.
Under the One-China Policy, China considers Taiwan as an isolated island, part of the Chinese mainland and Chinese authorities also hope to reinstate Taiwan as an integral part of China.
Though the three Baltic nations have decided to stand strong against the behemoth China, a lot of other European nations continue to be part of the China Cooperation Group.
Nine central to East European countries, including Greece, Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Croatia are still part of the group.
The China Cooperation group was founded in Budapest in 2012 and saw participation from a little more than 14 members.
The group was formed to promote tourism, education, and cultural bonds. It is also reported that the arrangement was part of a bigger strategy from CCP to push Belt and Road initiatives (BRI), transportation, trade, and infrastructure. Critics also saw the arrangement as a way to exploit EU members.
Annual summits were conducted for the past decade or so in various capitals of the participating members. The member to withdraw from the arrangement was Lithuania in 2021.
Estonia and Latvia’s statement after the withdrawal
Both the nations have released statements mentioning that they still hope to maintain “pragmatic and constructive relations” with China. Yet, both Estonia and Latvia reasoned that they will strictly adhere to human rights and follow international regulatory orders.
The Foreign Ministry of Latvia also stated that cooperation was no longer a part of Latvia’s objectives for the current international environment.
China’s growing aggression towards Taiwan is alarming and a direct threat to human rights violations as well as international diplomatic rules.
China condemns Lithuania
After the Lithuanian delegation visited the small island of Taiwan, China condemned the move. China has also released a threatening statement of giving ‘stern retaliation’ to Lithuania.
Amidst the tensions brewing between China and Taiwan; Agne Vaiciukeviciute, the Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications made a five-day visit to Taiwan. He had arrived on the island on 7 August.
According to the Xinhua News agency, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson WangWenbin said that Lithuania is deliberately violating Chinese sovereignty and the interjection made by Lithuania in China’s internal matters is gross.
China, also earlier, has withdrawn its Lithuanian ambassador and subsequently imposed heavy trade bans on the nation.
The recent actions of China towards Taiwan are raising criticisms from all parts of the world.
The militarised pressure on Taiwan is escalating and at the same time, China’s relationship with Russia also continues to grow stronger.
Latvia earlier had also condemned Russia’s actions towards Ukraine, calling it targeted genocide against the Ukrainian people.
Would the aggression shown by giant super nations towards smaller dependent nations which is a direct violation of human rights ever be stopped? There has been barely any true impact done on Russia despite the heavy sanctions imposed on the nation over the last few months.
China has also decided to head in the direction Russia went despite knowing the backlash it will receive. This does raise a lot of questions for the future of the international global community and its fragile relationships.
Most countries have good diplomatic relations with china due to its dominance over trade for centuries. Right now, smaller nations like Estonia and Latvia have hopes of cutting their ties with the giant nation solely due to China’s skeptical policies and fear-mongering over Taiwan. It is a good change considering Estonia and Latvia were both parts of the USSR and right now cannot be silenced over another small nation’s independence.
