China’s top paper urges US to rein in Japan over Taiwan

BEIJING – China urged the US on Nov 27 to rein in Japan and prevent any “actions to revive militarism” in an editorial published by the newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, as a war of words with Tokyo grows over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan.

The timing of Chinese President

Xi Jinping’s call with US President Donald Trump

on Nov 24, followed by the

US leader’s call with Ms Takaichi the next day

, prompted analysts to speculate that Beijing had asked Washington to step in to ease hostilities.

The diplomatic furore erupted after Ms Takaichi told Parliament on Nov 7 that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo.

“China and the United States share a common responsibility to jointly safeguard the post-war international order and oppose any attempts or actions to revive militarism,” the article said, highlighting how the two countries had shared a common enemy during World War II, namely Japan.

“The communication between the Chinese and US leaders has significant practical implications,” the editorial added, asserting that Ms Takaichi’s comments have “raised concern and vigilance in the international community regarding Japan’s dangerous strategic moves”. 

The commentary was published under the pen name “Zhong Sheng”, meaning “Voice of China”, which is often used to give the paper’s view on foreign policy issues.

Mr Trump told Ms Takaichi to avoid further escalation with China during their call, two Japanese government sources told Reuters.

Ms Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry, did not address whether Mr Xi had asked Mr Trump to intervene when asked during a regular news conference on Nov 26.

People’s Daily said Mr Trump had told Mr Xi that the US understood the importance of Taiwan to China. Mr Trump made no mention of the democratically governed island that Beijing regards as part of its territory in his Truth Social post following their conversation.

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Nov 23 that plans to

deploy a medium-range surface-to-air missile unit

at a military base on Yonaguni, an island about 110km off Taiwan’s east coast, were “steadily moving forward”, drawing sharp criticism from Beijing. 

“China and the US fought side by side against fascism and militarism, and should now work together to safeguard the victory of World War II,” People’s Daily said. REUTERS