Politburo member Wang Yi has become the most senior Chinese official to wade into the war of words over the new Japanese prime minister’s comments on the Taiwan Strait, saying her remarks “crossed a red line”.
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Wang, who is China’s foreign minister, said China must “resolutely respond” to the comments to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and defend its post-war achievements.
“It is shocking that Japan’s current leader has publicly sent the wrong signal of attempting military intervention in the Taiwan issue, said things that shouldn’t have been said, and crossed a red line that should not have been touched,” Wang said in a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
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Why have Takaichi’s Taiwan comments sent China-Japan ties into a tailspin?
Why have Takaichi’s Taiwan comments sent China-Japan ties into a tailspin?
The ministry did not specify when Wang made the comments, saying only that they came after his trip to the Central Asian states of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The trip ended on Saturday.
“China must resolutely respond,” he was quoted as saying.
“This is not only to safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also to defend the post-war achievements won with blood and lives, and to uphold international justice and human conscience.”
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Wang’s statement is the latest volley in Beijing’s diplomatic row with Tokyo over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion to the Japanese parliament this month that a hypothetical attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
This prompted retaliatory measures from China, from diplomatic protests to warnings to its citizens about travel and study in Japan.