Japan sent ‘shocking’ wrong signal on Taiwan, says China

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was “shocking” for Japan’s leader to openly send a wrong signal concerning Taiwan, according to an official statement on Sunday, the latest remarks in a row that has shaken relations for more than two weeks.

Wang, the most senior Chinese official to have commented publicly on the issue, said Japan was crossing a red line that must not be touched, according to the statement posted on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.

He accused Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of attempting to intervene militarily over Taiwan. Wang was referring to comments on November 7 in which she told a questioner in parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

The ensuing row, the biggest China-Japan crisis in years, has spread to trade and cultural relations. On Friday China raised the issue with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, vowing to defend itself.

“If Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression,” China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong wrote in the letter. “China will resolutely exercise its right of self-defense under the UN Charter and international law and firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Beijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

In response to the letter to the UN, Japan’s foreign ministry on Saturday dismissed China’s claims as “entirely unacceptable” and said Japan’s commitment to peace was unchanged.

Speaking to reporters in South Africa after attending the G20 leaders’ summit, Takaichi on Sunday made no mention of Wang’s remarks or the letter, saying only that Japan remained open to dialogue with China.

“We are not closing the door. But it’s important for Japan to state clearly what needs to be said,” she said. She added that she had not spoken with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who was also in Johannesburg for the meeting.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the letter to the UN.

“The letter not only contains rude and unreasonable content but also maliciously distorts historical facts,” the ministry said in a statement. “Furthermore, it violates Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force in international relations.”

Wang said that in responding to Japan’s move, “China must resolutely hit back - not only to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also to defend the hard-won postwar achievements secured with blood and sacrifice.”

If Japan “persists in its wrong course and continues down this path,” all countries and people have the right to “re-examine Japan’s historical crimes” and “resolutely prevent the resurgence of Japanese militarism”, he said.

China is Japan’s largest export market after the United States, buying about $125 billion of Japanese goods in 2024, mainly industrial equipment, semiconductors and automobiles, according to UN COMTRADE data.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a visit to Dushanbe, that China will expand imports of high-quality agricultural products from Tajikistan and encourage Chinese companies to invest in the landlocked country,

Wang told his Tajik counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, that China would remain a “trustworthy and reliable partner” for Tajikistan, according to a Foreign Ministry statement released late on Saturday.

Wang thanked Tajikistan for its “firm support on issues involving China’s core interests, such as Taiwan”, it said.

“China will never allow right-wing forces in Japan to reverse the course of history, nor permit external forces to interfere in Taiwan, and will never allow Japanese militarism to resurface,” the statement said.

Wang said during the meeting in Tajikistan that China would “work with all parties to uphold the international consensus on the one-China principle and jointly safeguard the achievements of the victory in World War Two.”

Reuters