China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly urged Japan to withdraw its remarks on Taiwan or face the full consequences of its actions.
Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently made provocative statements about Taiwan that suggest the possibility of military intervention in the Taiwan Strait. „Despite serious demarches and protests from China, the Japanese side is standing its ground and refusing to retract its statements,“ Lin said.
In his view, these statements grossly violate the one-China principle, the four Sino-Japanese political documents and the basic norms of international relations. „These statements constitute open intervention in China's internal affairs, threaten its vital interests and undermine its sovereignty,“ He added.
Lin Jian stressed that China never tolerates such statements and Japan must immediately correct its wrongdoing. If it fails to do so, Japan will bear all the consequences.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of China's victory in the resistance against Japanese aggression and the 80th anniversary of the restoration of sovereignty over Taiwan. Lin recalled that during the colonial rule in Taiwan, Japan committed countless crimes and during the past century, Japanese military forces launched aggression more than once under the pretext of „threatening survival.“.
„What does Prime Minister Takaichi mean by reviving the phrase ‚threat to survival‘? Does Japan want to repeat its previous militaristic mistakes and make enemies of China and other Asian nations again? Is she trying to subvert the post-war international order?“ Lin asked.
The spokesman stressed that Taiwan belongs to China and the question of its future settlement and national reunification is to be decided solely by the Chinese people without the intervention of any outside force. He said attempts by the Japanese authorities to interfere in Taiwan affairs not only suffer from the justice of international law, but also constitute a provocation to the post-war international order and seriously damage China-Japan relations.
If Japan dared to interfere in the situation in the Strait, it would be an aggression that would certainly provoke a firm reaction from China. China will firmly exercise its right to self-defence under the UN Charter and international law and defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
„Our message to Japan is clear: Japan must take full responsibility for its war crimes, immediately stop its provocative statements and actions interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan issue. Those who play with fire will burn,“ Lin Jian added.
