Eight decades ago, the brave Chinese people fought for 14 years and defeated the Japanese invaders. Today, if Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression, and China will deliver a resolute counterattack, warned a front-page article of the PLA Daily published on Saturday. 

Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi claimed in the Diet hearing that the Chinese mainland's use of force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, suggesting that Japan may exercise its right of collective self-defense and implying a possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Straits. 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 of China's sovereignty. 

Moreover, it is a serious affront to international justice, a blatant provocation to the post-WWII order, and a serious damage to China-Japan relations. The intention behind Takaichi's remarks is extremely malicious, the nature of the statement is profoundly egregious, the impact is severe, and the consequences are dangerously risky. The Chinese government, the Chinese people, and the Chinese military strongly express their indignation and resolute opposition. The Japanese side must correct and retract the wrong remarks at once. Otherwise, all resulting consequences arising therefrom must be borne by the Japanese side, said the article.

China and Japan are close neighbors, and the stable, long-term development of China-Japan relations serves the interests of both peoples and the international community. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. It is also the 80th anniversary of of Taiwan's restoration. Taiwan's restoration to China was a significant outcome of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and an important part of the post-World War II international order, with a solid legal and historical foundation. The Taiwan question is purely an internal matter for China, and how to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese people alone, which allows no interference by any external force, the article stressed.
 
Takaichi is now the first Japanese leader since 1945 to publicly assert that "a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency." Disregarding the undeniable historical and present reality, Takaichi attempts to relate the Taiwan question with Japan's so-called security interests, exposing her disregard of both history and reality, which also exposess Japanese right-wing's attempt to militarily intervene in the Taiwan Straits  and amounts to a threat of force against China.

Japan has for some time been promoting a major overhaul of its defense policy, rapidly advancing down the dangerous path of military expansion. It is accelerating toward becoming a "militarized nation" unbound by its pacifist constitution. Alongside the revision of three key national security documents, the development of offensive weaponry, and the sharp rise in defense spending to 2 percent of GDP, Japan is becoming a significant source of regional instability. Eight decades ago, the brave Chinese people fought for 14 years and defeated the Japanese invaders. Today, if Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression, and China will deliver a resolute counterattack. We will firmly exercise our right to self-defense under the UN Charter and international law and defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
 
In reality, the so-called"survival-threatening situation" cited by Takaichi is merely a pretext, an illusion that convinces no one. Historically, Japanese militarists have waged aggression more than once under the pretext of "survival-threatening situation,"which brought immense suffering to the people of Asia, including China, and the world. By reviving this notion today, Takaichi must explain before the the Japanese public and the international community: 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?
 
The Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests and is the red line and bottom line that cannot be crossed. Achieving full national reunification of the motherland is the shared aspiration of all Chinese people, the fundamental interest of the Chinese nation, and the sacred mission of the People's Liberation Army. With the PLA's firm resolve and strong, reliable capabilities, any external interference will be decisively crushed. If Japan refuses to learn from the lessons of history and dares to take reckless actions, including military intervention in the cross-Straits situation, it will be playing with fire and will suffer unbearable price, warned the PLA Daily.

Global Times