China has effectively threatened to take military action against Japan, if Tokyo tries to interfere over Taiwan. The ominous warning comes amidst a growing diplomatic row which exploded last week between the two countries.
The spat touches on the historical animosity between China and Japan, as well as longstanding “strategic ambiguity” on the sovereignty of Taiwan. Last Friday, the Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Tokyo could respond militarily, if China attacked Taiwan. “If there are battleships and the use of force, no matter how you think about it, it could constitute a survival-threatening situation,” she said in answer to a parliamentary question.
Under Japan’s 2015 security law, the legal term “survival-threatening situation” refers to any attack on its allies that could constitute an existential threat to Tokyo.
In such a situation, Japan’s self-defence forces can be activated to respond to the threat.
Beijing reacted with fury to the remarks, describing them as “egregious” and insisted Takaichi take back her comments. With no retraction forthcoming, China went on to the offensive on Thursday, issuing a thinly veiled military threat to Japan.
At a press conference on Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: “Japan must fully repent for its war crimes, immediately stop its wrong and provocative statements and actions that interfere in China’s internal affairs, and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan question. Those who play with fire will perish by it.”
Referencing history, Lin reminded Tokyo that this year marks the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japanese aggression and the recovery of Taiwan.
He accused Japan of reviving militarist language under the pretext of national self-defence.
Lin warned that any Japanese military involvement in Taiwan would be treated as an act of aggression.
“If Japan dares to intervene, China will firmly exercise its right to self-defence under the UN Charter,” he said.
The longstanding animosity between Beijing and Tokyo can be traced back to series of armed conflicts in the 1800s and Japan’s brutal military campaign in China during World War II.
AloJapan.com