Lithuania expels three Chinese diplomats

Lithuania declared three staff members of China's representative office in the country, a type of diplomatic mission, as personae non gratae, its foreign ministry said on Friday.

The ministry cited violations of the Vienna Convention and Lithuanian legislation as the cause, though no further details were provided. The 1961 Vienna Convention outlines the rules of diplomatic law.

The staff have been instructed to leave Lithuania within a week, the ministry said in a statement, exacerbating sour relations between the two countries.

China's representative office in Lithuania could not be immediately reached for comment.

China has already downgraded ties with Lithuania and pressured multinationals to sever links with the Baltic nation of 2.9 million people after it allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy there in 2021.

In March, the chief of Lithuania's counter-intelligence said Chinese interference in this year's elections could not be ruled out due to the EU and NATO member's support for Taiwan.

In addition, a Chinese ship is suspected of being involved in damage to two undersea cables recently, one of which runs between Sweden and Lithuania.