China: tension rises over Taiwan, Beijing advises its citizens against travelling to Japan
Takaichi stated that if China launched a military attack on Taiwan and used force against American troops, the case 'could turn into an existential threat' to Japan
China has urged its fellow citizens to refrain from travelling to Japan, in what is the latest development in the escalating bilateral tensions linked to Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi's comments on Taiwan. "Japanese leaders have made blatantly provocative statements in public on the Taiwan issue," the Chinese embassy in Tokyo reported, warning that "the climate for people-to-people exchanges between Japan and China has significantly deteriorated, posing a serious security risk to the Chinese." The embassy therefore urged fellow citizens living in Japan to be careful.
Takaichi stated in Parliament last week that if China launched a military attack on Taiwan and used force against US troops attempting to defend it, the case 'could turn into an existential threat' to Japan. If the government recognised the situation as such, the Japanese Self-Defence Forces could be authorised to use force even if Japan was not under attack, based on the principle of collective defence. On Thursday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned the Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi and asked the premier to retract his 'extremely malicious' statements.
The Japanese diplomat, for his part, retorted that Takaichi's comments are consistent with the government's current position, adding that Japan has no intention of intervening in the Taiwan issue. The posture on Taiwan "remains unchanged," the Tokyo government said on Friday in a statement designed to defuse tensions with Beijing. "The position on Taiwan is consistent with the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communiqué," Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a briefing, "We firmly reiterate the need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Meanwhile, a Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman said on Friday that if Japan were to intervene militarily in the Taiwan issue, 'it would only suffer a crushing defeat against the Chinese People's Liberation Army of Steel Will and pay a high price'.
