China takes a blowtorch to Japan’s missile plan
As the ‘Wolf Warriors’ howl, the geriatric leadership of the Communist Party needs to cool their jets
China has taken a blowtorch to Japan’s plans to place missiles on Yonaguni, which is close to Taiwan. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called the move “deliberate and dangerous” in a media briefing today amid rising regional tensions.
Over the weekend, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced that medium-range surface-to-air missiles would be deployed at a military base on the island, which is part of the Okinawa chain. It is just 110 kilometers, or 68 miles, from democratic Taiwan.
The move is seen by Tokyo as a purely defensive measure as China tightens its grip on the East and South China Seas, backed by the world’s largest surface fleet. But as Beijing scrambles to justify its threats to take Taiwan by force, it has turned up the rhetoric.
“Right-wing forces in [Tokyo] are… leading Japan and the region toward disaster. [Beijing] is determined and capable of safeguarding its national territorial sovereignty,” Mao said.
“The move is extremely dangerous and should raise serious concerns among the international community,” she added, highlighting remarks made by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that an attack on Taiwan represented an “existential threat” to her country.
Verbal warfare:
- China’s Communist state considers the island a “rogue province.”
- Yet it has never ruled the thriving democracy, making “reunification” a myth.
The cavernous gap was on full display over the weekend.
The Japan Times
Delve deeper: “[If an emergency in Taiwan involved] warships and the use of force, then that could constitute a threat [to Japan’s] survival. [This] situation has become so serious that we have to anticipate a worst-case scenario,” Takaichi said.
Between the lines: The diplomatic row quickly intensified when China’s consul general in Osaka, Xue Jian, posted inflammatory remarks on X. “We have no choice but [to] cut off that dirty neck that has been lunged at us. Are you ready,” he asked, referring to Takaichi.
Big picture: Since then, the regional standoff has deepened. The row has already hit tourism and trade, with hundreds of thousands of Chinese canceling trips to Japan. Beijing has also imposed Japanese seafood import bans.
Bottom line: “The cavernous gap was on full display over the weekend as any contact between Prime Minister Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang failed to materialize at a G20 summit,” The Japan Times pointed out today.
China Factor comment: As Beijing-backed “Wolf Warriors” howl across Chinese cyberspace and the tightly-controlled state-run media, the geriatric leadership of the Chinese Communist Party needs to cool their jets.