China summons Japan ambassador over PM Takaichi’s Taiwan comments
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Long seen as a China hawk, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi is an outspoken backer of Taiwan, advocating security ties with the self-ruled island.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BEIJING – China said on Nov 14 it summoned the Japanese ambassador over remarks that the country’s new prime minister made about Taiwan.
Last week, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told Japan’s Parliament that armed attacks on Taiwan could warrant sending troops to support the island under “collective self-defence”
If an emergency in Taiwan entails “battleships and the use of force, then that could constitute a situation threatening the survival (of Japan), any way you slice it”, Ms Takaichi told Parliament.
Beijing insists that Taiwan is part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to seize control of the self-governing island.
Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi on Nov 13, according to a statement published on Nov 14 on Beijing’s Foreign Ministry website.
It said Mr Sun made “serious demarches over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks regarding China”.
“If anyone dares to interfere with China’s unification cause in any form, China will surely strike back hard,” the statement added.
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry on Nov 13 also slammed Ms Takaichi’s remarks
“The Japanese side must correct its wrongdoing at once and retract the unjustified remarks,” spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a press briefing.
Ms Takaichi told Parliament on Nov 10 that she had no intention of retracting her statement and insisted it was consistent with Tokyo’s previous stance.
But she said she would in future refrain from referring explicitly to specific scenarios.
Long seen as a China hawk, Ms Takaichi has been a regular visitor to the Yasukuni shrine that honours Japan’s war dead and is an outspoken backer of Taiwan, advocating security ties with the self-ruled island.
Security legislation passed in 2015 allows Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defence under certain conditions, including if there was a clear danger to Japan’s survival.
In response to Ms Takaichi’s comments, Chinese Consul-General in Osaka Xue Jian threatened on Nov 8 in a now-removed post on social media platform X to “cut off that dirty neck without a second of hesitation”.
He did not name Ms Takaichi but quoted a news article about her remarks.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Nov 13 that Mr Xue’s post was “highly inappropriate”.
“We strongly urge the Chinese side to continue taking appropriate measures to ensure that this does not affect the broad direction of Japan-China relations,” added Mr Motegi, who was in Canada for a Group of Seven meeting. AFP
