Japan-China Relations Heat Up: Premier Takaichi Signals Military Support for Taiwan?

Asianet News English

Japan’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has sparked diplomatic firestorms after suggesting Japan might militarily intervene if China attacks Taiwan. Her comments mark a clear departure from Japan’s long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity and have elicited strong protests from Beijing, including threats and the summoning of the Japanese ambassador. Takaichi, an ally of former premier Shinzo Abe and known for her critical stance on China, has a history of visits to controversial shrines and a firm position on regional security.   #JapanChinaTensions #SanaeTakaichi #TaiwanCrisis #AsiaPacificSecurity #ChinaTaiwan #JapanPolitics #Geopolitics #TaiwanStraitCrisis #World   🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE  Download the Asianet News App now!  Available on Android & iOS  👉 Android:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vserv.asianet&hl=en_IN   👉 iOS:  https://apps.apple.com/in/app/asianet-news-official/id1093450032   For More Updates:  Follow us on our What's app Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va5Bq3yKwqSLSQTxam0r  English: https://newsable.asianetnews.com/  Hindi: https://hindi.asianetnews.com/  Malayalam: https://www.asianetnews.com/  Kannada: https://kannada.asianetnews.com/  Tamil: https://tamil.asianetnews.com/  Telugu: https://telugu.asianetnews.com/  Bengali: https://bangla.asianetnews.com/  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsianetNewsa...  Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AsianetNewsEN  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ann.newsable/  ➡ If you like our video, give us a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel to get the daily dosage of news, entertainment, sports and more.

Transcript

00:01Japan and China's long testy relations have worsened in recent days,

00:06following comments by new Premier Sanai Takeichi about a possible attack by Beijing on Taiwan.

00:16Before taking power last month, Takeichi, an acolyte of ex-premier Shinzo Abe,

00:22was a vocal critic of China and its military build-up in the Asia-Pacific.

00:27She has been a regular at a shrine that honors Japan's war dead,

00:32including those of guilty of crimes in World War II,

00:35that is seen by Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past.

00:41Japan's first woman prime minister has visited Taiwan in the past

00:45and met Taipei's representative at a recent APEC summit.

00:50She also held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the same event.

00:54Her comments on November 7th were widely interpreted as implying that an attack on Taiwan,

01:01which is just 100 kilometers from the nearest Japanese island,

01:05could warrant Tokyo's military support.

01:08If a Taiwan emergency entails, Takeichi told Parliament,

01:12battleships and the use of force,

01:15then that could constitute a situation threatening the survival any way you slice it.

01:20Takeichi said,

01:22Japan's self-imposed rules say that it can only act militarily under certain conditions,

01:36including an existential threat.

01:39Wang Hongzhen, a political analyst at National Chengkung University in Taiwan,

01:44said the comments,

01:46sent a very strong message to China.

01:48Japan is no longer just standing by and watching.

01:52He added,

01:53the probability of Japan intervening to deter China

01:56and prevent any military action by China around the Taiwan Strait

02:00has increased significantly.

02:02Beijing insists Taiwan,

02:08which was occupied for decades by Japan until 1945,

02:12is part of its territory

02:13and has not ruled out the use of force to seize control.

02:18In a now-removed post on X,

02:20the Chinese Consul General Inosaka Suijian

02:23threatened to cut off that dirty neck,

02:26apparently referring to Takeichi.

02:28Tokyo lodged a protest

02:30and Takeichi's ruling party passed a resolution

02:33calling for the envoy to be declared persona non grata.

02:38Beijing's foreign ministry called on Japan

02:40to retract the unjustified remarks,

02:44warning otherwise that the consequences

02:45must be borne by the Japanese side.

02:49A day later,

02:50China said it had summoned the Japanese ambassador

02:52to make serious demarches

02:54about the erroneous remarks.

02:56The foreign ministry said,

02:59if anyone dares to interfere

03:00with China's unification cause in any form,

03:03China will surely strike back hard.

03:06In response,

03:08Japan said that its position on Taiwan was unchanged

03:11and that it continues to urge

03:13peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

03:19Tokyo normalized diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1972,

03:25but relations have long been dogged by historical issues.

03:29Japan also has a warm relationship with Taipei.

03:33Previous sitting Japanese prime ministers

03:35have avoided commenting directly on Taiwan's defense,

03:39choosing instead to maintain strategic ambiguity.

03:43Similarly,

03:44the United States has long been deliberately ambiguous

03:47on whether it would deploy its military

03:49to defend Taiwan,

03:50although former President Joe Biden

03:52repeatedly suggested he would order

03:54the U.S. military to intervene

03:56if China moved on the island.

03:58For future generations,

04:06the U.S. military as the new

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