00:00A spat that started two weeks ago shows no signs of letting up.
00:03Japan and China are locked in an escalating diplomatic dispute
00:06after Japanese Prime Minister Takeichi Senai told lawmakers that the country could intervene in an attack on Taiwan.
00:13Beijing claims Taiwan and has never ruled out taking it by force if necessary.
00:17China is now pressing its allies to join it in condemning Japan.
00:21Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on a visit to Tajikistan,
00:24called Senai's remarks shocking and said she crossed the red line.
00:27He's the highest-level official to comment on the matter so far.
00:31And on Sunday, Japan's Defense Minister visited Yonaguni, the country's closest island to Taiwan,
00:37and announced government plans to deploy missiles there.
00:40For Taiwan, the quarrel highlights how easily the geopolitical peace it hopes to maintain can be tested.
00:54China now looks to push things to the next level.
00:56Last week, its mission to the United Nations wrote a letter
01:00invoking the horrors committed by Japan during World War II
01:02and stating its grounds for attacking Japan if it intervenes in a Taiwan-strait conflict.
01:08China also accused Senai of violating international law.
01:11Experts say the letter is a way for Beijing to make its grievances appear more credible.
01:14China has to move on to Taiwan's hands-on-trait conflict.
01:19My opinion, China is trying to promote the international law in a country-state line.
01:21Of course, China can bring into perspective, China has to move on to Taiwan's or human mandate.
01:35But by turning to the international community, China may be raising Taiwan's profile and encouraging greater cooperation with what the foreign ministry here calls like-minded countries.
02:05That pressure is being felt by both Japan and Taiwan.
02:10In the weeks following Takeichi's remarks, China began and extended live-fire exercises in the Yellow Sea, which borders Japan.
02:17And Taiwan has seen several surges in Chinese military activity near the country.
02:22China has also refused to meet with Japan's delegation at this year's G20 summit in South Africa, though Tokyo says it's still open to dialogue.
02:29And with Beijing now turning to friends and the UN to drum up support, chances of its bat with Japan getting resolved soon look increasingly slim.
02:38Justin Wu and Larry Siano for Taiwan Plus.
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