China has summoned Japan’s ambassador in Beijing, escalating a simmering diplomatic rift over comments from Japan’s new prime minister regarding potential military support for Taiwan, according to Hurriyet Daily News. The move marks the sharpest exchange yet since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a longtime China hawk, took office earlier this month.
Takaichi told Japan’s parliament last week that an armed assault on Taiwan could qualify as a threat to Japan’s survival language that, under Japan’s 2015 security laws, could justify deploying the country’s Self-Defense Forces in a “collective self-defense” role. If a Taiwan crisis involved “battleships and the use of force,” she said, Japan could not consider itself untouched.
Beijing bristled. Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong called in Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi on Thursday, delivering what China described as a “serious demarche” and accusing Takaichi of making “erroneous remarks” that interfered in China’s internal affairs. Beijing reiterated its position that Taiwan is an inalienable part of its territory and warned that any foreign attempt to obstruct “national unification” would be met with a hard response.
Tokyo, however, pushed back. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan’s long standing stance on Taiwan anchored in the 1972 normalization agreement recognizing Beijing as the sole government of China, remains unchanged. Still, he stressed that peace in the Taiwan Strait is essential for both Japan’s security and global stability.
Takaichi, who has frequently visited the contentious Yasukuni Shrine and is seen as one of Japan’s most overtly pro-Taiwan leaders, stood by her remarks but vowed to avoid detailing hypothetical military scenarios going forward.
The diplomatic temperature rose further when Xue Jian, China’s consul general in Osaka, posted and later deleted a menacing social media message implying violent retaliation against those supporting Taiwan. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi condemned the post as “highly inappropriate,” urging Beijing to prevent further deterioration in an already strained relationship.
