Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

When asked to comment on claims by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that any crisis in the Taiwan Straits would lead the US and Japan to take joint action to evacuate their citizens from Taiwan island, and that under such circumstances Japan could not abandon its long-standing ally, the US, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that historically and legally, Japan has no qualification whatsoever to make remarks on the Taiwan question.

"The latest comments once again expose the ambitions of Japan's right-wing forces to stir up confrontation, create trouble, and push forward 'remilitarization' under the pretext of crisis narratives, challenging the post-war international order. This has already posed a serious threat to regional peace and stability and to the political foundation of China-Japan relations. The international community must remain highly vigilant and firmly oppose this," Guo said.

Guo noted that what Japan must be reminded of is that the 1972 China-Japan Joint Statement clearly stipulates that the Japanese government recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China. The PRC government reiterates that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Japanese government fully understands and respects this position and adheres to the stance of Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation. 

"The 1978 China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship confirmed by the legislative bodies of both countries requires that all principles stated in the Joint Statement be strictly observed. According to a series of documents with full effect under international law — including the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and Japan's Instrument of Surrender — Taiwan island, which Japan stole from China, must be returned to China. Japan must be completely disarmed and must not maintain any industries that could enable its rearmament. Japan's Constitution also places strict restrictions on military forces, the right of belligerency and the right to wage war," the spokesperson stressed.

"All of these are political commitments Japan must strictly honor and legal obligations it cannot shirk," Guo said. "Yet while Japan claims it will act within the law, it repeatedly interferes crudely in China's internal affairs and even issues threats of force against China. This is completely self-contradictory," Guo said.

Guo added that Japan carried out colonial rule over Taiwan for half a century and committed innumerable crimes, bearing grave historical responsibility to the Chinese people. "We once again urge Japan to abide by the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and the commitments it has made, earnestly reflect and correct its course, and stop manipulating and acting recklessly on the Taiwan question."

Global Times