A diplomatic clash between China and Japan over recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is heating up at the United Nations.
Chinese ambassador Fu Cong has sent a second letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres, describing Takaichi’s comments over Taiwan as the “greatest challenge” to bilateral ties and urging Tokyo to retract them.
Fu’s message on Monday was issued in response to his Japanese counterpart, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, who last week accused Beijing of “stifling” bilateral engagement. In his own letter to the UN, Yamazaki argued that the Japanese leader’s comments did not go beyond the post-World War II defence posture.
“The greatest challenge at present is that 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 wrote in his letter to the UN chief.
“If the Japanese side truly seeks to develop stable China-Japan relations, it should clearly reaffirm the one-China principle … immediately retract the erroneous remarks and take practical steps to honour its commitments to China. Otherwise, the Japanese side should bear all the consequences arising therefrom.”
Beijing has maintained a hardline stance against Tokyo since Takaichi said in parliament on November 7 that an attack on the self-ruled island could be interpreted as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, which could allow Tokyo to engage in military action alongside US forces.
But even as bilateral tensions have escalated, at least two key organisations in Tokyo have reportedly offered to visit China.
Japanese news agency Kyodo reported that several members of the Japan–China Friendship Parliamentarians’ Union, a cross-party group of lawmakers, met Chinese ambassador Wu Jianghao on Monday. The group told Wu that it was interested in sending a delegation to China as early as next month, according to the report.
The report said that Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, also met Wu last week, telling the envoy that the organisation was willing to dispatch a business delegation to China.
In response, Lin Jian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, again urged Takaichi to retract her remarks, saying that “many people with insights in Japan have expressed deep concern over the damaging impact and serious consequences” of her speech.
Lin added that Beijing hoped that relevant organisations in Japan could play a more active and constructive role domestically.
Beijing sees Taiwan as a part of China to be reunited, by force if necessary. Most countries, including Japan and its ally the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is committed to supplying it with weapons.
Tokyo said its position regarding China had not changed, but Beijing has dismissed that statement as “far from enough”.
In his latest letter, Fu said the phrase – survival-threatening situation – “clearly goes beyond its claim of ‘passive defence strategy’”.
“Historically, it was the go-to tactic of Japanese militarists to expand armaments under the pretext of so-called survival-threatening situations and launch external aggression in the name of ‘self-defence’,” he wrote.
Fu urged the international community to be “highly vigilant” against “Japan’s ambition to expand its military capabilities and revive militarism”.
In Yamazaki’s message delivered on November 24, he said that Takaichi’s remarks were “grounded in” the country’s position of “passive defence strategy, which is exclusively defence-oriented”.
The Japanese diplomat also took a veiled swipe at Beijing’s assertiveness towards Taiwan, saying “certain countries have been engaged in the prolonged expansion of military capabilities in a non-transparent manner”, and “attempt unilateral changes to the status quo by force or coercion”.
Yamazaki also wrote that Beijing had been “stifling” bilateral people-to-people and economic exchanges, showing a “negative attitude” towards political-level dialogue with Tokyo.
Beijing has postponed two major meetings with Japan and South Korea: a trilateral summit scheduled for January in Japan, and a ministerial meeting that was due to take place last week. The diplomatic chill is also affecting the public, with China cancelling several films, concerts and other cultural events across the country involving Japanese nationals.
On Tuesday, Beijing Daily published a commentary lashing out at Japan’s “systematic failure to thoroughly confront its wartime past”, after a social media post showed Japanese football player Kaoru Mitoma posing with a photo of Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda.
Onoda held out in the Philippine jungle for 29 years before surrendering in 1974, becoming the last Japanese soldier to surrender in World War II. He received a hero’s welcome on his return to Japan.
He was pardoned by the Philippine government despite killing Filipinos he mistook for enemies while he hid out.
The Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, where Mitoma plays, apologised for “any offence caused in China”.