A COAST Guard ship formation passed through the waters of the Senkaku Islands on a “rights enforcement patrol”, the China Coast Guard said in a statement, as Beijing increases diplomatic pressure with Japan over its prime minister’s remarks on Taiwan.
A diplomatic spat between China and Japan has intensified since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament on Nov 7 that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically-ruled Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
The remarks sparked an angry response from Beijing, which has signalled that it expects Takaichi to retract them in some fashion.
“China Coast Guard vessel 1307 formation conducted patrols within the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands. This was a lawful patrol operation conducted by the China Coast Guard to uphold its rights and interests,” the statement said.
China and Japan have repeatedly faced off around the Japan-administered islands, which Beijing calls Diaoyu and Tokyo calls the Senkaku.
“This is not merely reckless rhetoric. It is profoundly destabilising. By dragging the Taiwan question into Japan’s already-contested security framework, Takaichi is deliberately blurring the boundary between defensive policy and outright militaristic adventurism,” Xinhua said in a commentary.
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Japan has been facing mounting pressure from China since Takaichi made her remarks, with China’s Consul General in Osaka commenting: “The dirty head that sticks itself out must be cut off,” prompting a formal protest from Tokyo.
Beijing then summoned the Japanese ambassador for the first time in more than two years, and China’s defence ministry declared that any Japanese intervention would be doomed to fail.
According to Xinhua, Takaichi’s erroneous remarks constituted a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, seriously violating the one-China principle, the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, and the basic norms of international relations.
Takaichi’s outburst also runs counter to the political commitments Japan has repeatedly made, igniting a storm of controversy within the country.
On Friday, China cautioned its citizens against travelling to Japan, prompting Tokyo to urge Beijing to take “appropriate measures” though it did not elaborate.
Three Chinese airlines said on Saturday that tickets to Japan could be refunded or changed for free.
Japanese leaders have previously avoided publicly mentioning Taiwan when discussing such scenarios, maintaining a “strategic ambiguity” also favoured by Tokyo’s main security ally, the United States. — Agencies
