‘Gross interference’: China hits back at Japan’s defence take on Taiwan

Name: China calls Japan ‘irresponsible’ over Tokyo’s ‘sense of crisis’ for Taiwan Strait tensions
Uploaded: 2021-07-21T08:34:34.000Z
Duration: 40 s
Description: China calls Japan ‘irresponsible’ over Tokyo’s ‘sense of crisis’ for Taiwan Strait tensions

Beijing says Tokyo has exaggerated the ‘Chinese threat’ and it will defend its territorial integrity

Comments follow a Japanese defence paper saying the country should monitor conditions in the Taiwan Strait with a ‘sense of crisis’

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The Japanese defence ministry says it is necessary to pay close attention to the situation around Taiwan with “a sense of crisis more than ever before”. Photo: AP

Rachel Zhang

Published: 4:34pm, 21 Jul 2021Updated: 11:00pm, 21 Jul 2021

China has accused Japan of grossly interfering in its internal affairs after Tokyo for the first time raised concerns about the stability over Taiwan in an annual defence paper.

“The Taiwan issue is entirely China’s internal affair and external forces cannot interfere. The Chinese military will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” China’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said the report “exaggerated the so-called Chinese threat” and damaged the political foundation of China-Japan relations.

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China calls Japan ‘irresponsible’ over Tokyo’s ‘sense of crisis’ for Taiwan Strait tensions

The Japanese defence paper said Beijing had intensified military activities around Taiwan, including sending more aircraft through the island’s southwestern airspace.

“Stabilising the situation surrounding Taiwan is important for Japan’s security and the stability of the international community,” it said.

“Therefore, it is necessary that we pay close attention to the situation with a sense of crisis more than ever before.”

It also accused China of lacking transparency in its national defence policy and military affairs, saying that the raising of tensions in the East China Sea and other maritime areas as a result of China’s coastguard law was “completely unacceptable” to the country.

In the paper’s preface, Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said Japan would work with countries that shared the same values, such as the United States, Australia and Britain to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.