TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The opening of a de facto Taiwan embassy in Estonia has been delayed for two years due to a naming dispute and concerns about retaliation from China, per Nikkei Asia.

Taiwan has sought a “Taiwanese Representative Office” in the Baltic nation, similar to one opened in Lithuania. In 2023, Estonia announced it would allow a non-diplomatic office focused on trade and cultural exchange shortly before then-Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) visited the Baltic region. 

The designation “Taipei Representative Office” or similar iterations that avoid direct reference to “Taiwan” have been widely used across Europe to avoid angering Beijing.

Taiwan began establishing de facto embassies in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, with the most recent being in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2022, triggering fierce retaliation from China, which expelled the Lithuanian ambassador in Beijing and imposed trade restrictions and economic sanctions.

Analysts warn that Estonia could face similar consequences, including trade restrictions and diplomatic isolation, should it proceed with an office bearing “Taiwan" or "Taiwanese” in its title.

Nikkei Asia reported that Estonia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed a cabinet decision to allow the establishment of a non-diplomatic “Taipei” office but said it had not yet received a formal request to open one. It also reported that Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said both countries have “friendly” exchanges and "share common values of democracy and human rights.”

For example, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) attended the Lennart Meri Conference in Tallinn earlier this year, where he discussed regional security and China’s use of gray zone tactics against Taiwan.