Taiwan minister kicks off Europe trip with stop in Brussels

BRUSSELS - Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung started his week-long trip to Europe with a stop in Brussels that is likely to trigger Beijing.

On Nov 18, he visited the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre, a hub for nanoelectronics R&D, according to a report by Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency. There, he discussed semiconductor supply chains with IMEC CEO Luc Van den hove.

Mr Lin also met Belgian lawmaker Els Van Hoof, and a group of European Parliament members, the news agency said in its report on Nov 19. Ms Van Hoof is a member of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an organisation made up of lawmakers from around the world that aims to counter China’s influence. Earlier this year, she said Chinese spies had hacked her laptop.

After the stop in Brussels, Mr Lin will lead a delegation of representatives from 20 drone companies to Lithuania. The group is expected to meet 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.

The Lithuania visit dovetails with President Lai Ching-te’s plans to advance Taiwan’s drone manufacturing, partly to offset China’s military advantage in the technology. Beijing sees Taiwan as a province that must be brought under its control, by force if necessary.

While previous Taiwanese foreign ministers have travelled to Europe, such as Mr Joseph Wu going to the European Parliament last year, Beijing opposes nations it has diplomatic ties with from having contact with officials from the democracy.

That stance will likely prompt China to file diplomatic complaints with Lithuania and Belgium, and possibly to retaliate somehow against Taiwan. Among Beijing’s possible responses are harsh rhetoric, economic punishments and increased military activity around the archipelago of 23 million people. BLOOMBERG