Although Reuters and others are referring to China’s forceful response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s threat of military action around Taiwan as a “spat,” the showdown is anything but that. Reuters itself reports on a letter sent by China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong on Friday, Nov. 21 to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In it, he stated that Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi committed “a grave violation of international law…. If Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression.… China will resolutely exercise its right of self-defense under the UN Charter and international law and firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
CNN’s coverage takes note of the fact that China is sending a message not only to Japan, but to the U.S. and other nations as well. “The spat, which shows no sign of abating roughly two weeks on, also reveals something else: Beijing’s deep-seated concerns about the potential for changing military postures in Asia—as U.S. allies ramp up defense spending and coordination in the face of its own rising military might. Japan has made a sweeping shift in its security posture in recent years, veering away from the pacifist constitution imposed on it by the United States in the aftermath of World War II, to boost its defense budget and acquire counterstrike capabilities.”
