Taiwan Minister Kicks Off Europe Trip With Stop in Brussels

(Bloomberg) - Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung started his weeklong trip to Europe with a stop in Brussels that's likely to trigger Beijing.

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On Monday, Lin visited the Interuniversity Microelectronics Center, a hub for nanoelectronics R&D, according to a report by Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency. Lin discussed semiconductor supply chains with IMEC CEO Luc Van den hove.

Lin also met with Belgian lawmaker Els Van Hoof, and a group of European Parliament members, CNA said in its report on Tuesday. Van Hoof is a member of Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an organization made up of lawmakers from around the world that aims to counter China's influence. Earlier this year, she said Chinese spies hacked her laptop.

After the stop in Brussels, Lin will lead a delegation of representatives from 20 drone companies to Lithuania. The group is expected to meet with 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 tech. Beijing sees Taiwan as a province that must be brought under its control, by force if necessary.

While previous Taiwanese foreign ministers have traveled to Europe, such as 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 stepped up military activity around the archipelago of 23 million people.

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