China has cautioned Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding military involvement in the Taiwan dispute.
Japan has criticized China for invoking a United Nations Charter provision that allows measures against former Axis nations without needing Security Council authorization, arguing that the clause is obsolete and no longer applicable.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recently formed government has become entangled in a growing diplomatic exchange of sharp words with Beijing, sparked by her statements made earlier this month endorsing Taiwan’s self-governing administration. Beijing viewed her comments, describing a cross-strait conflict as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, as an indication of possible Japanese military intervention and proof of renewed militarism.
Last week, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo released a section from the UN Charter that mentioned “enemy states” – countries which opposed the initial signatories, the Allied Powers of World War II. Article 53 permits regional enforcement actions against these states if there is a “renewal of aggressive policy,” without necessitating prior approval from the UN Security Council.
Beijing subsequently filed an official grievance with the UN concerning Takaichi’s declarations. The embassy implored Japan “as a defeated country in World War II” to “reflect on its historical crimes” and alter its stance on the Taiwan matter.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry rejected that contention, alleging China was misconstruing “obsolete clauses” which it asserted were no longer consistent with UN procedures. Although the UN General Assembly suggested removing the “enemy state” mentions in 1995, the formal amendment procedure was never finalized.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi paid a visit to a military installation on Yonaguni during the weekend, an island approximately 110km to Taiwan’s east. He reaffirmed intentions to station medium-range surface-to-air missiles there as part of an expanded military enhancement on Japan’s southern island chain.
Russia also maintains unresolved disputes with Japan, with whom a formal peace treaty has yet to be concluded. Tokyo persistently asserts its claim over the four southernmost Kuril Islands, referred to in Japan as the “northern territories,” which were incorporated into the USSR following World War II and continue to be a significant point of contention for Japanese nationalists.