China accuses Japan of military threats amid Taiwan tensions

The Chinese foreign minister, in a conversation with his German counterpart, emphasized that the current Japanese leadership is trying to use the Taiwan issue to provoke and escalate tensions.

According to Wang Yi, Japan's actions in the region, particularly around Taiwan, are "completely unacceptable" and threaten stability in East Asia.

This came after Japan reported that Chinese fighter jets had allegedly locked their radar onto aircraft of Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

The Japanese side described the incident as dangerous and stressed that such actions create a real threat to military flight safety. China, in turn, accused Tokyo of provocations and of interfering with planned aircraft carrier drills east of the Miyako Strait.

Wang Yi noted that this year marks 80 years since the end of World War II, and Japan, "as a defeated nation," should act with restraint. He sharply criticized Tokyo's current position on Taiwan, recalling Japan's colonization of the island from 1895 to 1945.

"Yet now, its current leader is trying to exploit the Taiwan question - the very territory Japan colonised for half a century, committing countless crimes against the Chinese people - to provoke trouble and threaten China militarily. This is completely unacceptable," Wang Yi said.

China insists that Taiwan is an inseparable part of the People's Republic of China (PRC), while the Taiwanese government rejects these claims, noting that the PRC did not exist in 1945 and has never ruled the island.

When asked about Beijing's justification for using radar against Japanese military aircraft, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said it was "a dangerous act that goes beyond what is safe and necessary." He refused to confirm reports that Beijing did not answer Tokyo's calls on the bilateral hotline, which has been in place since 2018, during the incident.

The military aviation incident is expected to become a subject of further international discussions.

Diplomatic tension between Beijing and Tokyo

Tensions between the countries escalated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that Tokyo might intervene in the event of a Chinese military operation against Taiwan if it threatened Japan's security.

China has considered Taiwan part of its territory for many years and labels its government as separatist. Historically, remnants of the anti-communist Kuomintang, which lost the civil war to Mao Zedong, settled on the island in 1949.

The United States has already presented a strategy to prevent conflict with China over Taiwan. The Trump administration outlined its approach in the official National Security Strategy, published on December 5.

Moreover, after speaking with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump called Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and urged her to soften her tone regarding Taiwan.