Taiwan Spat Threatens China-Japan Ties 11/17 06:27

   

   BEIJING (AP) -- Less than a month into her term, Japan's conservative leader 
has stirred tensions with China by suggesting a Chinese move against Taiwan 
could prompt a Japanese military response.

   China objects to the involvement of other countries in Taiwan, notably the 
United States, which is the main supplier of weapons to the self-governing 
island. Beijing claims it as its own and says it must come under its control. 
It says it's a domestic issue and "a red line" that others should not cross.

   Takaichi went beyond past Japanese statements

   Speaking to a parliamentary committee, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on 
Nov. 7. that a Chinese naval blockade or other action against Taiwan could be 
grounds for a Japanese military response.

   "If it involves the use of warships and military actions, it could by all 
means become a survival-threatening situation," she said.

   Her comments were stronger than those of her predecessors. Previous prime 
ministers have expressed concern about China's threat to Taiwan but haven't 
publicly said how Japan would respond.

   Takaichi later refused to retract her remarks but told the same 
parliamentary committee three days later that she would avoid talking about 
specific scenarios in the future.

   Japan's new leader is a longtime supporter of Taiwan. She views China as a 
growing threat and has ordered an acceleration of plans to boost Japan's 
military spending.

   Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Friday that Japan's position on 
Taiwan has not changed.

   China responds with stern warnings

   Takaichi's comments caused an uproar in China, with the foreign and defense 
ministries, the Taiwan Affairs Office and state media all weighing in.

   Her remarks came as a surprise because tensions over Taiwan were not 
particularly high, said Wang Huiyao, the president of the Center for China and 
Globalization, a think tank in Beijing.

   "We can't just let the prime minister speak so openly at parliament," he 
said.

   One of the first to speak out was China's consul general in Osaka, who said 
in a now-deleted social media post that China has no choice but to cut off an 
intruding "dirty neck." The comment was understood as an allegation that 
Takiachi was interfering into what China sees as its internal affairs. Motegi 
called the post "extremely inappropriate."

   China's Foreign Ministry called in Japan's ambassador on Thursday to warn 
against any interference in Taiwan. The next day, Japan's Foreign Ministry 
summoned China's ambassador in Tokyo to complain about the social media post.

   Beijing is upping the ante

   On Friday night, China took aim at Japan's tourism economy. It issued a 
notification advising against travel to Japan. About 7.5 million Chinese 
tourists visited in the first nine months of this year, the largest number from 
any country and about one-fourth of the total.

   China's Education Ministry followed up with a warning to students on Sunday 
about recent crimes against Chinese in Japan, though it didn't advise them not 
to go.

   Also on Sunday, China's coast guard announced that it was patrolling the 
waters around a group of uninhabited islands that both countries claim. Japan 
criticized an incident in which a fleet of four Chinese coast guard ships 
briefly violated Japanese territorial waters around the islands Sunday.

   On Monday, Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told reporters 
that Premier Li Qiang "has no arrangement to meet with the Japanese leader" 
during the upcoming Group of 20 summit in South Africa.

   A bigger concern for Japan would be if China were to restrict the export of 
rare earth magnets, vital components in auto manufacturing and other 
industries. There was no immediate indication China was considering it.

   Japanese officials are trying to calm the waters. Motegi said he planned to 
ask China to make "an appropriate response" to prevent a major impact on 
relations.

   On Monday, Japan dispatched a senior diplomat to Beijing for talks with 
Chinese Foreign Ministry officials in an apparent move to calm the situation, 
but no details have been released.

   The U.S.-Japan alliance looms in the background

   Japan's position is complicated by its post-World War II constitution, which 
bans its use of force except for defending its territory -- the military is 
called the Self-Defense Force.

   Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe succeeded in expanding the military's 
mandate by winning parliamentary approval in 2015 of a law that would allow 
Japan to come to the aid of an ally -- most likely the U.S. -- in a conflict 
that is determined to be an existential threat to Japan.

   Takaichi, who rose in politics as a protg of Abe, said that a Chinese move 
against Taiwan could qualify as a threat, setting off the ensuing firestorm.

   Another possible threat would be a conflict with North Korea that draws in 
the U.S., analysts say. Japan has previously not specified what would 
constitute an existential threat under the provision, which is called 
collective self-defense.

   Now, Tokyo doesn't want to withdraw Takaichi's remark, because it could 
narrow its options in a Taiwan crisis. Backpedaling could also hurt the new 
prime minister's high public support ratings and her image as a hawk on China.