00:00Jorge Haini is a former Chilean government minister and ambassador to China and co-author of the book The Non-Aligned World.
00:07He explained why Japan's Prime Minister's comments are considered so unacceptable by China.
00:12Well, because they strayed from the traditional policy that has been followed both by the United States and by Japan on Taiwan in terms of strategic ambiguity.
00:24It is a very difficult issue. It's a complex issue. And therefore, U.S. policy and Japanese policy until now have been very careful not to get into the specifics as to what it means to defend Taiwan.
00:41Prime Minister Takahashi did so, answering questions in parliament and therefore the Chinese reaction.
00:48There's also been criticism of her remarks from other Asian countries, including South Korea, even from her predecessor, who's condemned the statement.
00:59Why would she make comments that risk straining Japan's relations with its neighbors?
01:03Well, Prime Minister Takahashi is new. She has been known to be a China hawk.
01:13And well, you know the saying, a new broom sweeps well.
01:18Well, in this case, it might have swept too well and she got herself into hot water.
01:25It's fine and well to portray yourself as a China hawk.
01:30But once you get to discussing the specifics of what Taiwan means, it can get to be very tricky.
01:38And that is what is happening now.
01:40So given this current escalation, where do China-Japan relations go from here?
01:45Well, I will say this, so far this year, 7.5 million Chinese tourists have visited Japan.
01:57China has just issued a travel advisory, basically encouraging Chinese citizens not to visit Japan.
02:06So my point is this. China has many ways to exert pressure on Japan.
02:12I think Japan will have to look for ways to retreat from these very provocative statements by the Prime Minister.
02:21So as we see this cooling in relations, who do you think is likely to feel the impact first and most strongly?
02:29Well, in this case, I would argue that Japan is likely to feel the impact of this strain in relations.
02:36And therefore, it will have to come forward with some sort of gesture.
02:42This is a red line.
02:45The issue of Taiwan is a red line for China.
02:48It has always been so.
02:50And therefore, it seems to me, Japan will have to tread very carefully.
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