‘India’s Role Crucial’: Slovenia Slams China Over Lithuania, Tensions In Indo-Pacific

Slovenian prime minister Janez Janša on Monday said that India is a crucial factor when it comes to guaranteeing the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region. Janša was speaking to news agency DD India in an exclusive interview where he reflected on the role India can play in order to ensure stability in the region. He also said that the European Union will also not buckle under Chinese pressure while commenting on the recent diplomatic tensions between China and EU member Lithuania.

“India’s foreign minister (S Jaishankar) and I discussed these issues in detail and his assessment was very accurate. Even in European politics a huge majority believes that despite all the problems between Russia and Ukraine, the key issue is Indo-Pacific now. India is a crucial country here, for balancing those tensions and for aligning with all other countries which want peace in this region,” Janša said.

Janša also expressed support for Taiwan and said that Slovenia respects the sovereign decisions of Taiwanese people. He said that no amount of coercion – military, diplomatic and strategic – should be exerted on Taiwan, criticising China’s recent moves without taking its name. He also said that Hong Kong was experiencing ‘strategic cheating’ – taking a jibe at China’s implementation of national security law in the special administrative region.

“If Taiwanese want to live independently, we are here to support this,” Janša said.

Janša’s comments on Taiwan come as another EU member Lithuania battles Chinese diplomatic aggression after Taiwan opened a representative office in the capital, Vilnius. China, which saw the move, as an affront since it sees Taiwan and mainland China as part of one country.

“We are supporting Lithuania and we will continue to support it. China (earlier) also protested when offices were established earlier as well. This time, though, it was terrifying, trying to isolate small countries. They never went this far as they went in this case,” he said. Janša also said that China was not open regarding the Covid-19 pandemic in the beginning.

During his interview with DD News, the Slovenian PM also highlighted how India and Slovenia bilateral relations have flourished and said that Slovenians take deep interest in Indian cuisine, ayurvedic medicines and yoga.

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