Khaberni - China has raised tension levels with its neighbor Japan, accusing Tokyo of threatening it with a military intervention in Taiwan.
China has taken its escalating dispute with Japan to the United Nations, pledging to defend itself and using its strongest language to date since the crisis erupted two weeks ago.
Earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanai Takaishi said any Chinese attack on Taiwan, which is just over 100 kilometers from Japanese territory, could be considered "a situation threatening the survival of Japan."
In a message to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday, Fu Tsung, the Chinese Ambassador to the UN, said the Japanese Prime Minister committed “a grave violation of international law” and diplomatic norms when she stated that any Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a military response from Tokyo.
Fu added in the message, according to a statement issued by the Chinese mission to the UN, "If Japan dares to try military intervention across the Strait, it would be considered an act of aggression. China will firmly exercise its right to self-defense under the United Nations Charter and international law, and will strongly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity."
China insists on its sovereignty over Taiwan and considers it a subordinated territory and has not ruled out the use of force to control the self-governing island.
As of now, it has been impossible to reach the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister's office on Saturday for comments on Fu's message, which represents the strongest criticism of Takaishi to date from a senior Chinese official in the biggest bilateral crisis in years.
Takaishi, who took office last month, abandoned the long-standing policy of ambiguity that Tokyo and Washington followed regarding Taiwan when she told an inquirer in Parliament on November 7th that any Chinese attack on Taiwan, which is just over 100 kilometers from Japanese territory, could be considered "a situation threatening the survival of Japan."
This constitutes a legal description that allows the holder of the Prime Minister’s office in Japan to deploy the military.
Takaishi's statement has caused a dispute with China that surpassed diplomacy in the past few days, with Beijing stating it has "inflicted severe damage" on trade cooperation, while concerts by Japanese musicians in China were suddenly canceled.
Fu called on Japan "to stop provocations and crossing boundaries, and to retract its incorrect statements,” considering them “an open challenge to the fundamental interests of China."
