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Chinese FM spokesperson warns 'firm response' if Tokyo dares to meddle in cross-Straits situation

Global Times

By Xu Keyue and Zhao Jingru Published: Nov 13, 2025 11:57 PM

In response to a media inquiry over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's claim last week that the mainland's use of force on Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, and insisted that her remark is in line with the government's position and she will not retract it during Diet deliberations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday that if Japan should dare to meddle in the cross-Straits situation, it would be an act of aggression and definitely meet a firm response from China.

Lin said that Takaichi made provocative remarks on Taiwan which imply the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Straits during a Diet session. Despite China's serious démarches and protests, she still refused to change course and take back what she had said.

"The wrongful remarks grossly violate the one-China principle, the guiding principles set forth in the four China-Japan political documents, and the basic norms of international relations. That constitutes a blatant interference in China's internal affairs, a challenge to China's core interests, and infringement on China's sovereignty. China firmly opposes and will by no means tolerate such remarks. The Japanese side must correct its wrongdoing at once and retract the unjustified remarks. Otherwise, all the consequences arising therefrom must be borne by the Japanese side," the spokesperson said.

During a hearing in the Diet, Japan's legislature, on November 7, Takaichi claimed that a Taiwan emergency involving the use of military vessels and military force from the Chinese mainland could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan. According to legislation, Japan's Self-Defense Forces could exercise the right of collective self-defense if such a situation is recognized as "survival-threatening."

On Monday, at a Lower House Budget Committee, Takaichi maintained that her position "aligns with the government's longstanding view and I have no intention of retracting or rescinding it," the Mainichi Shimbun reported on Monday.

On Thursday, spokesperson Lin further noted that over the last century, Japanese militarists have waged aggression more than once under the pretext of "survival-threatening situation." For example, Japan brazenly created the September 18th Incident under the pretext of exercising the right of self-defense. Its aggression against China inflicted untold suffering on the people of China, the rest of Asia, and the wider world.

"What's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi up to by reviving the phrase "survival-threatening situation"? Is Japan going to repeat its past mistakes of militarism? Does Japan try to once again make enemy with the Chinese and other Asian people? Does Japan attempt to subvert the post-WWII international order?" Lin asked.

The repercussions of Takaichi's wrongful remarks on Taiwan question are resonating both abroad and at home.

Former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba criticized Takaichi's recent claims on Taiwan during a radio appearance on the Thursday, responding to her statement in the Diet, Ishiba noted that past administrations had consistently avoided making definitive declarations on how the government would respond to specific scenarios regarding the Taiwan question, Mainichi Shimbun reported.

Ishiba said Takaichi's comments were "very close to claiming that a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency," adding that previous governments had refrained from predetermining responses to individual cases, according to Mainichi Shimbun.

The Komeito party of Japan, which has left the ruling coalition, launched Thursday what resembled "opposition-style" criticism against the increasingly hawkish Takaichi cabinet, after its claims regarding Taiwan, Tokyo Shimbun reported.

According to NHK on Thursday, Komeito party chief Tetsuo Saito expressed his intention to hold the Japanese government accountable, stating that he will submit an official written inquiry to the government. This action stems from his doubts regarding whether Takaichi's recent parliamentary statements—particularly those concerning the Taiwan question—align with the government's longstanding official positions and fundamental principles, NHK reported.

Saito's criticism also extended to another of Takaichi's security positions - her potential sidestepping of a commitment to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, as reported Wednesday by the Japan Times - prompting him to voice stern concerns at a Thursday party meeting, as covered by the Tokyo Shimbun.

In less than a month since Takaichi took office, the Japanese government has repeatedly stirred up tensions on the Taiwan question and defense policy, which has raised strong concerns in Japanese society, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Takaichi's recent claims on Taiwan question and the Three Non-Nuclear Principles are not isolated incidents but part of a systematic effort to break through Japan's post-war pacifist system and pave the way for "military loosening", Da believes.

The Takaichi administration, inheriting the line of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is trying to promote constitutional revision, update key security documents, accelerating the increase of the defense budget share, and sending dangerous signals on the Taiwan question, according to Japanese media reports.

These attempted measures, aligned with the US "Indo-Pacific Strategy" and the dissemination of so-called "China threat" rhetoric, could harm regional mutual trust and fuel an arms race in Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific, Da commented.

In response to a US State Department spokesperson's remarks on Wednesday regarding Takaichi's wrong remarks concerning Taiwan, in which the US claimed it is committed to preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo, supporting cross-Straits dialogue, and hoping that differences will be resolved by peaceful means, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday, "let me reiterate that the Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations."

Lin said how to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese ourselves and brooks no external interference.