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Alsharq Tribune-Otaify
Japanese former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba criticized current prime minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks regarding Taiwan during a radio appearance on Thursday.
Ishiba said in the radio program on TBS that Takaichi's comments were "very close to claiming that a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency," adding that previous governments had consistently avoided making definitive declarations on how the government would respond to specific scenarios regarding the Taiwan question.
During a hearing in the Diet, Japan's legislature, on Nov. 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."
During Diet deliberations on Monday, Takaichi insisted that her remark is in line with the government's longstanding view, and she has no intention of retracting it.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday 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 an 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.
