(Bloomberg) — China last week condemned a visit by Estonian lawmakers to Taiwan as a violation of the country’s claim over the island, the latest point of tension between Beijing and the Baltic region.
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A five-member delegation from the Estonian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee made a trip to Taiwan, where they met President Lai Ching-te and other senior officials. The group praised Estonia’s improved relations with Taiwan in recent years, saying in a statement that democracies must stand together and warning of the “threat of autocracies.”
The Chinese embassy in Tallinn responded by saying the visit “is a serious violation of the one-China principle” as embodied in bilateral relations between the two countries. The government in Beijing considers the independently governed island a rogue province.
Estonian lawmakers should “be careful when it comes to the Taiwan issue, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, stop sending wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan independence forces’, so as to protect the overall interests of bilateral relations security,” the embassy said in a statement. on Tuesday.
The salvo follows a warning last year after Estonia said it would allow Taiwanese officials to open an office to develop cultural and economic ties. Lithuania, another Baltic nation, sparked a diplomatic row in 2021 when it allowed the opening of a representative trade office.
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