Japan Envoy Rebuts China’s Claim in Letter to U.N. Chief

New York, Nov. 24 (Jiji Press)–Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations, on Monday sent U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres a letter rebutting China’s claim over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on a possible Taiwan contingency. China’s assertions shown in a letter sent to the U.N. chief by Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the world body, on Friday “appear to be inconsistent with the facts and unsubstantiated,” Yamazaki said in his letter. Takaichi said at a meeting of Japan’s parliament earlier this month that China’s possible use of force against Taiwan could constitute a so-called survival-threatening situation for Japan, in which the country can exercises its right to collective self-defense. Yamazaki’s letter said that Japan’s fundamental defense policy is “the posture of passive defense strategy, which is exclusively defense-oriented, contrary to the Chinese side’s claims,” adding, “Japan also defines, through domestic law, situations in which the right of collective self-defense recognized under the U.N. Charter can be exercised, in a restrictive manner.” Takaichi’s remarks are “grounded in this position,” the letter said. “Therefore, China’s assertion that Japan would exercise the right of self-defense even in the absence of an armed attack is erroneous,” it added. “Certain countries have been engaged in the prolonged expansion of military capabilities in a nontransparent manner,” and “there are nations that continue to attempt unilateral changes to the status quo by force or coercion, despite opposition from neighboring countries,” Yamazaki also said, apparently with China in mind. “Recently, China has been stifling bilateral people-to-people and economic exchanges, including the trade in fishery products that are originally unrelated to this matter,” the letter said. “Such an approach of imposing coercive measures against other countries’ statements and policies that do not align with its own intentions is something the international community should oppose.” Following Takaichi’s remarks in question, China effectively suspended imports of Japanese fishery products and urged its people to refrain from visiting Japan. Yamazaki’s letter stressed that the Japanese side expects “issues concerning Taiwan will be resolved peacefully through dialogue,” noting that this is Tokyo’s “consistent position.” Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for Guterres, said at a press conference Monday that he expects Japan and China will ease the current tensions between them through dialogue. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]