China sent coast guard vessels through waters near the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands amid escalating tensions over Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan.
Last week, Ms Takaichi stirred up a diplomatic storm with Beijing after suggesting that Japan’s self-defence forces could be mobilised if a Chinese attack on self-governed Taiwan threatened Japan’s survival.
Beijing has demanded the Japanese prime minister retract the remarks, summoned Japan’s ambassador, and issued sharp warnings, while also advising Chinese citizens against travel to Japan.
On Friday, China warned its citizens against travelling to Japan, prompting Tokyo to urge Beijing to take “appropriate measures”, without specifying what it meant.
Three Chinese airlines said on Saturday that passengers can change or refund their tickets to Japan at no extra cost.
Her comments, made during a parliamentary session last week, marked a sharp break from Tokyo’s long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity” over Taiwan – a stance designed to deter conflict without directly provoking China.
She said that if an emergency in Taiwan involved “warships and the use of force, then that could constitute a situation threatening [Japan’s] survival, whichever way you look at it”.
She added: “The so-called Taiwan contingency has become so serious that we have to anticipate a worst-case scenario.”
“If there are battleships and the use of force, no matter how you think about it, it could constitute a survival-threatening situation,” Ms Takaichi said, referencing the legal threshold under Japan’s 2015 security legislation that allows military action in defence of allies when Japan’s own security is deemed at risk.
Beijing quickly condemned her remarks as “egregious”, with Xue Jian, China’s consul general in Osaka, amplifying tensions by writing on X that “the dirty head that sticks itself in must be cut off”.
Mr Xue also condemned earlier comments by former prime minister Shinzo Abe and other Japanese lawmakers, asserting that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japan emergency”, calling them a “blatant interference in China’s internal affairs and a violation of its sovereignty”, and demanding that Tokyo issue a retraction and apology.
“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 Chinese coast guard said in a statement. China refers to the Senkaku Islands as the Diaoyu Islands, and Beijing claims it as its own.
Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be brought under its control – by force if needed – and has stepped up military pressure around the island since president William Lai Ching-te assumed office.
Although most nations, including the US, do not formally recognise Taiwan as a sovereign country, Washington remains its key supporter, pledging to help the island defend itself and warning China against any military aggression.
Meanwhile, Japanese tourism and retail stocks tumbled on Monday after China warned its citizens against travelling to Japan, as diplomatic tensions surged over Ms Takaichi’s remarks.
The director general of the Japanese foreign ministry’s Asia and Oceania bureau, Masaaki Kanai, is set to meet his Chinese counterpart, Liu Jinsong, on Tuesday in a bid to ease rising tensions, according to Japanese media.
Mr Kanai is expected to clarify that Ms Takaichi’s remarks did not represent any change in Japan’s defence stance, while urging Beijing to avoid steps that could further strain relations.
Taiwan, meanwhile, reported a spike in Chinese military aircraft and naval activity around the island, calling it part of continued pressure from Beijing.
