The comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, that Japan would get involved if China attempted to take Taiwan by force, are continuing to reverberate in the Chinese media and population. It has also led to very public comments by former Japanese officials, including former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda who warned that Takaichi’s comments went “too far” and were “quite dangerous.”
An editorial in the PLA Daily on Nov. 16 didn’t mince words, reported South China Morning Post. Xu Yongzhi, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said Takaichi had revealed Tokyo’s “wolfish ambition to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs through military means.” Japan’s “misguided actions” would only lead the country “down a path of no return,” the article warned. “It risks the entire country becoming a battlefield.”
A Foreign Ministry release on Nov. 14 was even more forceful: “China cherishes peace and values good faith. That said, when it comes to China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and any other issues concerning China’s core interests, no one shall ever expect any compromise or concession from China.
“No one shall have the illusion that China will swallow the bitter fruit that undermines its sovereignty, security and development interests.
“Whoever dares to challenge China’s bottom line will face a resolute, head-on blow and be shattered against the great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people.
“For anyone who dares to hold back China’s reunification: Failure will be their fate.”
China has also reacted by sending Chinese ships to patrol along the Diaoyu and Senkaku Islands, whose ownership has been historically contended between Japan and China. China has warned its citizens against traveling to Japan.
