China summoned Japan’s ambassador after PM Takaichi suggested sending troops to Taiwan, escalating diplomatic tensions over the self-ruled island.
BEIJING: China summoned Japan’s ambassador over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments about potentially sending troops to Taiwan.
Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong made “serious demarches” to Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi regarding Takaichi’s “erroneous remarks” about the self-ruled island.
“If anyone dares to interfere with China’s unification cause in any form, China will surely strike back hard,” China’s foreign ministry stated.
Takaichi told parliament last week that armed attacks on Taiwan could warrant Japanese military support under “collective self-defence” provisions.
She argued that emergencies involving “battleships and the use of force” could threaten Japan’s survival under 2015 security legislation.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara insisted Tokyo’s position on Taiwan remains unchanged and consistent with the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique.
“Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are important not only for Japan’s security but also for the stability of the international community,” Kihara told reporters.
Beijing maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory and hasn’t ruled out using force to achieve unification.
Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China would “by no means tolerate” Takaichi’s comments and demanded Japan “correct its wrongdoing at once”.
Takaichi refused to retract her statement but promised to avoid discussing specific scenarios in future remarks.
The diplomatic spat intensified when Chinese consul general in Osaka Xue Jian threatened to “cut off that dirty neck” in a since-deleted social media post about Takaichi’s comments.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi called the post “highly inappropriate” and urged China to prevent such incidents from damaging bilateral relations. – AFP
