China’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Japanese Ambassador to China, demanding a retraction of recent remarks made by the Japanese Prime Minister, Takaichi Sanae, hinting at a possible Taiwan contingency.
Takaichi told the Lower House Budget Committee session last week that a contingency over Taiwan involving the deployment of the military force could be regarded as a "survival-threatening situation".
PM’s take —
The prime minister later said that the remark was made on the assumption of a worst-case scenario and does not change the government’s stated position.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has lodged a strong protest over the remarks, saying Takaichi’s comments are unacceptable.
The ministry, in its statement, added that Takaichi's remark was "extremely malicious".
“The comments undermine the political foundation of China-Japan relations and deeply hurt public sentiment, adding that 1.4 billion Chinese people will never tolerate it,” the ministry spokesperson said.
She said Taiwan remains a core interest of her country and is an inseparable part of the One China policy, and further warned the Japanese side to avoid crossing the red line, or else it would have to bear all the consequences.
Meanwhile, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing said Kanasugi rejected the diplomat’s claims and explained the purpose of Takaichi's remark as well as the Japanese government's position. The embassy also said the ambassador strongly protested a social media comment posted last week by the Chinese consul-general in Osaka, after Takaichi made her remark.
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