A voter casts her ballot in a polling station for the parliament elections in Vilnius, Lithuania, October. 25, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

Lithuania's new ruling coalition said Monday it will commit to supporting "those fighting for freedom" in Taiwan, and around the world. The country has also recently adopted a high profile by supporting Taiwan's attempted entry into the World Health Assembly.

Lithuania was one of the constituent republics of the former Soviet Union. After independence, it became one of the most anti-Russian countries in Europe. Now it is becoming wild about provoking China.

Lithuania has a population of fewer than 3 million people and fears someday that it will be wiped out by Russia. This fear and paranoia is consuming its global outlook and knee-jerk political actions. 

I once read a sentence by former US president George W. Bush on the wall of the Town Hall in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania. It read: "Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America."  

I asked a political scientist from Lithuania about this. "Do you believe him?" He paused, then said, "We have no choice."

Usually, a small country like Lithuania does not saber-rattle and grandstand on the world stage with brinksmanship comments. But it seems that its government cannot resist making trouble and provoking major powers. It not only has a tense relationship with Russia, but it engages in frequent fights with its close neighbor Poland. It even randomly lashes out against China, a faraway country. 

Democracy can be a good thing, but it is now being exploited by the government of a small but frightened country to brazenly bash others for no reason. If the government in Vilnius continues to behave crazily, it is bound to suffer consequences. How can a country that crawled out from chaos have a government that wants to incite even more disturbances internationally? Why does it want to inflict harm on others? In other words, Vilnius: Please behave yourself.  

The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn