(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung is leading a delegation of company executives to Lithuania, a visit very likely to draw a rebuke from China.
Representatives from 20 drone companies are joining the minister’s visit, which will last until Nov. 24, according to a foreign ministry statement on Sunday.
The delegation is expected to meet with Lithuanian government officials and attend a forum in Vilnius focused on drone technologies, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive matter. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has made advancing drone manufacturing a priority since he took office nearly six months ago, an effort partly intended to offset China’s military edge in the tech.
Beijing strongly distrusts Lai because it worries he will push to formalize independence. Since he became president, China has twice held major military drills that practiced encircling the self-governing democracy’s main island. It said the latest maneuvers, in October, were intended as a warning to halt “separatist acts.”
In September, Taiwan hosted two groups of US industry executives so they could meet counterparts in the archipelago of 23 million people that China has pledged to bring under its control eventually.
And last month, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry signed agreements with the US allowing it to buy as many as 1,000 attack drones from AeroVironment Inc. and Anduril Industries Inc. to aid in blunting a potential Chinese invasion.
Ukraine’s tactics in its war with Russia have drawn attention globally, notably methods that have included using relatively cheap drones to destroy larger, more expensive equipment like tanks.
Lin’s predecessor, Joseph Wu, traveled to Europe twice in 2023, and in past years other Taiwanese foreign ministers made trips that weren’t publicly disclosed, likely to avoid upsetting Beijing.
But his trip will probably prompt China to file diplomatic complaints with Lithuania, and possibly to retaliate somehow against Taiwan. Beijing opposes countries it has diplomatic ties with from having any official contact with Taipei.
That could complicate Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s push for improving ties with China. Earlier in 2024, he called for better relations with Beijing after the opening of a Taiwan representative office in his country three years earlier triggered a rift between the world’s No. 2 economy and the European Union member.
Lithuania recently halted the construction of a science park where a Taiwanese chip plant was planned, citing issues related to electricity and land use conversion. Taiwan’s foreign ministry later said that cooperation on semiconductor development with Lithuania will continue regardless of these challenges.
Lin’s delegation includes executives from Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp., Thunder Tiger Corp., GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology Inc. and a unit of Mitac Holdings Corp., the person familiar with the trip said.
One aim of the visit is to facilitate cooperation between Taiwan and Lithuania on drone tech, said Su Sheng-Chieh, president of Taichung-based drone maker Thunder Tiger.
“Lithuania is particularly good at laser technology that can be used in anti-drone systems,” Su added.
Lithuania’s Defense Ministry announced plans in May to promote domestic drone makers and teach drone operations at a military academy. Earlier this month, the Baltic country signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine to jointly produce military equipment including the devices.
Separately, Taiwan’s representative office in Poland is set to host an event in Warsaw on Nov. 22, featuring the participation of “high-profile” officials and representatives from Taiwanese companies, including Foxconn Technology Group, according to a media invitation seen by Bloomberg News.
On Nov. 16, a Taiwanese government-backed drone industry alliance signed a memorandum of understanding with Poland to collaborate on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies and expanding the global market.
(Rewrites headline, first and third paragraphs, adding Taiwan event planned in Poland in final paragraphs.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
