Vilnius, Lithuania,September 13 :
Concerned about China's "continued provocative, destabilising and intimidating activities" in the South China Sea, the US and Lithuania have voiced their concerns. The attempt by Lithuania to forge a stronger commercial relationship with Taiwan and to back Taiwan's active engagement in international forums was warmly received by both countries.
When US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis met in Vilinus on September 12, the joint statement was issued as a result.
Campbell and Landsbergis issued a joint statement that states, "Deputy Secretary Campbell and Foreign Minister Landsbergis reiterated their continued cooperation to counter the PRC's use of economic coercion, with Deputy Secretary Campbell commending Lithuania's resolve in resisting the unjustified PRC political and economic pressure."
The two sides expressed their approval of Lithuania's initiatives to deepen its economic connections with Taiwan and to encourage Taiwan to actively engage in international forums. According to the statement, both parties are worried about the People's Republic of China's (PRC) ongoing actions in the South China Sea, which they see as provocative, destabilizing, and menacing.
The two countries' heads of state reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful Taiwan Strait and spoke out against any unilateral effort to alter the current situation through the use of force or intimidation.
The two countries expressed their enthusiasm for maintaining the fruitful and productive US-Lithuania Strategic Dialogue on the Indo-Pacific in the joint statement.
The leaders of the two countries issued a joint statement in which they voiced their "unwavering support" for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia and discussed how China, North Korea, and Iran facilitate Moscow's aggression towards Kyiv through their various forms of support for Russia's defense industrial base.
The dangers that China's "malicious cyber and hybrid activities" pose to transatlantic security were addressed by Gabrielius Landsbergis and Kurt Campbell.
The joint statement expresses great worry about Russia and the PRC's efforts to undermine and alter the rules-based international order, as well as their growing strategic alliance. They came to an agreement to combat Russia's aggressive hybrid strikes on Allies and pledged to work together closely on the matter.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller denounced China's hostile behavior earlier on September 1.
Miller wrote in a post on X, "The United States stands with our Philippine allies and condemns the dangerous and escalatory actions by the PRC against lawful Philippine maritime operations near Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea." Both China and the Philippines accused each other of ramming each other's ships, prompting the US to respond. Near Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands, a Chinese ship "deliberately rammed" one of the Philippine Coast Guard's ships three times on August 29, 2024.
China and the Philippines have been at odds over the South China Sea for some time, and the accusations of provocative behavior from both countries have only made things worse.
At the heart of the dispute are competing territorial claims; China claims sovereignty over nearly the whole ocean along its "nine-dash line," and the Philippines claims its EEZ as a result of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China had its many claims dismissed in July 2016 by an international court in The Hague, which sided with the Philippines. But China disregarded the ruling and kept on doing what it was doing in the waters that were under question.
