China urges Japan PM to retract Taiwan remarks, warns of ‘heavy blow’
China has summoned the Japanese ambassador in Beijing and demanded that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her recent remarks on Japan’s potential involvement in a Taiwan emergency, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday.
Calling Takaichi’s remarks “extremely wrong and dangerous,” Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong warned in his meeting with envoy Kenji Kanasugi that “anyone who dares to interfere in China’s reunification cause in any form will surely be dealt a heavy blow,” the ministry said.
The two Asian neighbors have been embroiled in an escalating war of words since the remarks by Takaichi, a China hawk known for her pro-Taiwan stance.
Sun was also quoted as saying the Japanese leader’s “provocative” remarks which implied “the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait” seriously undermined the political foundation of bilateral relations and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.
“The 1.4 billion Chinese people will never tolerate this,” he added.
‘Untouchable red line’
The vice minister stressed that matters related to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory, are “at the core of China’s core interests” and “an untouchable red line.”
Kanasugi explained Japan’s position and countered Beijing’s argument, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing said without elaborating.
Later in the day, China’s Defense Ministry warned that if Japan were to use force to interfere in the Taiwan issue, it would “only suffer a crushing defeat against the steel-willed People’s Liberation Army and pay a heavy price.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also said at a press conference, “On issues related to our sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, we will never make any compromises.”
“No one should ever challenge our red lines,” Lin said. “Any force who attempts to stop China’s reunification is doomed to fail.”
Earlier this week, Takaichi denied any intention to retract her remarks, which she said were made on the assumption of a “worst-case” scenario and do not contradict the stance of the previous government.
Last Friday, Takaichi told a parliamentary committee session that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could present a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan that may lead it to exercise its right to collective self-defense.
Post inaccessible
Her remarks triggered a strong backlash from Beijing, with Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian threatening Saturday in a post on social media platform X to “cut a dirty neck without a moment of hesitation.” The post later became inaccessible.
In Thursday’s meeting with Sun, Kanasugi lodged a strong protest over Xue’s “extremely inappropriate” post and urged Beijing to take action, the embassy said.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara on Friday emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, saying Japan hopes for a “peaceful resolution” of issues related to the self-ruled democratic island.
Kihara added Tokyo upholds the countries’ 1972 joint communique, which states Japan “fully understands and respects” China’s position that Taiwan is “an inalienable part” of its territory. Japan switched its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the mainland that year.
Communist-ruled China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 after a civil war. China views the island as a breakaway province to be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary, and sees the Taiwan issue as a purely “internal affair.”
