China Envoy Sends U.N. Chief Another Letter on Takaichi Remarks

New York, Dec. 1 (Jiji Press)–Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Monday that he has sent another letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency. The letter came after Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Japan’s ambassador to the world body, rebutted China’s arguments in his letter sent to Guterres Nov. 24 in response to Fu’s first letter to the U.N. leader sent Nov. 21. In the second letter, Fu criticized Yamazaki’s letter for “making unreasonable arguments” and “dodging the key issues” while “groundlessly accusing China and seeking to shift blame,” according to China’s permanent mission to the United Nations. “Takaichi’s erroneous words and deeds have severely undermined the mutual trust between China and Japan, and damaged the political foundation of China-Japan relations,” Fu said, adding that the Japanese leader should immediately retract the remarks. The prime minister said at a meeting of Japan’s parliament Nov. 7 that China’s possible use of force against Taiwan could constitute a so-called survival-threatening situation for Japan, in which the country can exercise its right to collective self-defense. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for Guterres, said at a press conference Monday that Fu’s new letter will be shared among U.N. member states in accordance with prescribed procedures, while expressing hope that Japan and China will resolve their tensions through dialogue. Meanwhile, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara criticized Fu’s second letter at a press conference in Tokyo, saying, “China’s arguments are completely unacceptable.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]