BEIJING (Reuters) -China called Japan’s plan to deploy missiles on an island near Taiwan a deliberate attempt to “create regional tension and provoke military confrontation” on Monday, as a diplomatic dispute simmers between the two nations.
The remarks come amid their worst diplomatic crisis in years, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this month a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
“Right-wing forces in Japan are… leading Japan and the region towards disaster,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press briefing. Beijing “is determined and capable of safeguarding its national territorial sovereignty,” she added.
VITRIOLIC STATE MEDIA COMMENTARIES
Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Sunday that plans were “steadily moving forward” to deploy a medium-range surface-to-air missile unit at a military base on Yonaguni, an island about 110 km (68 miles) off Taiwan’s east coast.
“The move is extremely dangerous and should raise serious concerns among nearby countries and the international community,” especially in the context of Takaichi’s earlier remarks, Mao said on Monday.
China had responded to her comments with vitriol in state media commentaries, bans on Japanese seafood, a halt in Japanese movie releases, and a warning to citizens not to visit Japan.
Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory, and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of it, though the island’s government rejects Beijing’s claim and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
In Taipei on Monday, Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu told lawmakers that Japan, as a sovereign nation, had the right to take steps needed to protect the security of its territory, pointing out how close Yonaguni was to Taiwan.
“Japan’s strengthening of its relevant military facilities is basically helpful to maintaining security in the Taiwan Strait,” he added.
“So, of course, this is helpful to our national interests as Japan has no territorial designs or hostility towards Taiwan.”
On Sunday, Koizumi said the missile deployment aimed to protect Yonaguni, adding, “We believe that having this unit in place will actually lower the chances of an armed attack against our country”.
‘IF WAR BREAKS OUT TODAY’
In mid-November China’s defence ministry warned Japan of a “crushing” military defeat if it used force to intervene over democratically-governed Taiwan.
A number of command centres of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army followed suit, putting out a series of fiery music videos on social media in the past week.
The PLA Rocket Force, which oversees China’s conventional and nuclear arsenal, on Sunday showed footage of the country’s intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and soldiers readying their rifles in a music video titled “If war breaks out today, this is my response!”
In a video posted by the PLA Navy’s South Sea Fleet on Wednesday, a group of soldiers holding rifles and wearing camouflage face paint called out: “If fighting breaks out tonight, comrades, are you ready?”
“Artillery has been calibrated, ammunition is in place, and (we) have locked on the coordinates,” one of the soldiers said.
The PLA Navy’s North Sea Fleet, in another music video posted last Monday, showed warships and aircraft firing missiles and hitting targets in fiery blasts.
“Come, enemy, let’s have a showdown; I’ve already chambered my bullets; no matter how cunning you are, or how ferocious, I will bury you all the same,” the song went.
(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski and Beijing Newsroom; Additonal reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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