Totalitarian China will not bring peace to Europe, we must not repeat this mistake with Putin - Lithuanian Foreign Ministry
China and its ruler, Xi Jinping, will not bring peace to Europe, and therefore the idea of engaging with dictatorships must be abandoned.
According to the Minister, for many years Western countries believed that economic cooperation could persuade dictators to maintain order in the world, but instead they broke all the rules, and China is betting that Europe will repeat this mistake.
"We bought energy, transferred technology, invested in totalitarian regimes. We allowed them to grow. Our entanglement made us strategically blind. We ignored threats not only to the countries bordering Russia, but also to Western society itself. Our armies were neglected, our borders remained unprotected, and our ability to repel invaders decreased," the diplomat said.
The Lithuanian foreign Minister noted that the West did not want to see the threat of Russian aggression in Ukraine, and now it chooses not to see the threat of Chinese aggression.
"We are on the verge of repeating the same mistake. Our strategy with Putin has clearly failed. Now, instead of increasing defense spending and production or strengthening our transatlantic ties, we are asking another totalitarian to help us 'ensure peace' in Europe?" - the Minister wrote.
Landsbergis believes that Europe is capable of defending itself without China's help and must demonstrate strength, which, together with the United States and Ukraine, will ensure security on the continent.
"The same strong signal should be sent to Taiwan. We must declare that the island and its democracy-loving people are part of a rules-based order and that we will fight against any attempt to change the status quo by force because we are willing and able to do the right thing," he emphasized.
The minister said that there is no substitute for transatlantic unity, so the allies must protect it, not dismantle it.
"The same strong message must be sent to Taiwan. We must declare that the island and its democracy-loving people are part of a rules-based order and that we will fight against any attempt to change the status quo by force because we are willing and able to do the right thing," he emphasized.
The minister said that there is no substitute for transatlantic unity, so the allies must protect it, not dismantle it.
