(Adnkronos) – “The international community must remain highly vigilant against Japan’s ambitions to expand its military capabilities and revive militarism.” This is the appeal of the Chinese ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, once again denouncing the words of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, according to whom a Chinese invasion of Taiwan “would constitute an existential threat” to Japan. According to Kyodo News, the letter – the second in a few days – accuses Tokyo of “making unreasonable arguments” and asks the Japanese leadership to “immediately retract” what the prime minister stated.
The Japanese government continues to reject the accusations. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, in a press conference from Tokyo, called the Chinese statements “not at all true” and “totally unacceptable,” asserting that since the end of World War II, Japan has “constantly contributed to international peace and prosperity.” The Japanese ambassador to the UN, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, also replied in writing to the Glass Palace, specifying that Tokyo’s policy remains “exclusively defense-oriented” and that China “is wrong” in claiming that Japan would exercise the right to self-defense in the absence of an armed attack.
Regarding the Taiwan issue, Yamazaki reiterated that the Japanese position “has never changed” since 1972, the year of the normalization of relations with Beijing, and that Tokyo “expects the Taiwan issue to be resolved peacefully through dialogue.” Meanwhile, China continues to consider the island a rebellious province whose reunification is “inevitable,” even through force if necessary, and therefore increases military exercises around the democratically self-governed territory.
