Japan’s Sanae Takaichi rejects China demand to retract Taiwan remarks
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The dispute with China has become Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first major diplomatic challenge since she became national leader in October.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi rebuffed demands from China to retract her recent comments about Taiwan, saying there was no change to Tokyo’s stance on how it would respond to a major regional security crisis.
Ms Takaichi recently became the first sitting Japanese leader in decades to publicly link a Taiwan Strait crisis with the possible deployment of Japanese troops
Since then, she has limited herself to the more vague position repeated by recent Japanese prime ministers, and in remarks to reporters on Nov 21 before departing for a G-20 meeting in South Africa she reiterated that stance.
Asked if she planned to retract the comment that infuriated Beijing, she said: “Regarding a situation threatening Japan’s existence, the government will make a comprehensive judgment based on all available information, taking into account the specific circumstances of each actual situation as it arises”.
“I myself have repeatedly stated this position in my responses. The government’s stance remains consistent,” she added.
The dispute with China has become Ms Takaichi’s first major diplomatic challenge since she became national leader
While Chinese officials, state media and diplomats have mounted an intense effort to pressure her to retract her comments, Ms Takaichi and her senior officials have sought to dial down tensions and move beyond the issue.
In her remarks on Nov 21, Ms Takaichi said she wanted to continue to try and improve relations after she met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Apec summit in South Korea in October.
“President Xi and I confirmed the broad direction of comprehensively advancing our strategic and mutually beneficial relationship and building a constructive and stable relationship. There has been no change whatsoever in this stance,” Ms Takaichi said.
China is set to be represented at the G-20 by Premier Li Qiang, but there are no current plans for him to meet with Ms Takaichi.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters on Nov 19 that if Tokyo refuses to retract Ms Takaichi’s remarks on China-claimed Taiwan that angered Beijing, China will take “serious countermeasures”.
China has already responded with a wave of economic measures and threats of further retaliation.
It has told tourists not to visit Japan
So far, it hasn’t threatened to disrupt the supply of rare earths to Japan.
The dispute was triggered after Ms Takaichi said that if military force were used in a Taiwan crisis, it could be considered a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan.
That classification would provide a legal justification for Japan to deploy its military to help defend friendly nations.
A meeting between Japanese and Chinese diplomats earlier this week appeared to have done little to soothe tensions, with the Chinese side expressing dissatisfaction with the outcome of the talks. BLOOMBERG
