The growing diplomatic dispute between China and Japan following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichiโs recent remarks on Taiwan is more than a bilateral issue. It reflects deeper geopolitical changes across the Indo-Pacific, where shifting power balances, historical grievances and rising nationalism are pushing the region toward a new period of uncertainty.
The confrontation began after Takaichi suggested that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could pose an existential threat to Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to use โcollective self-defense.โ Her comments were immediately rejected by Beijing, which views Taiwan as an internal matter and considers foreign involvement a direct challenge to Chinese sovereignty. Three weeks later, the dispute continues to intensify rather than recede.
Chinaโs response was sharp. Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused Japan of โcrossing a red lineโ and warned that Tokyoโs actions could force the international community to โreexamine Japanโs historical crimes.โ Such references are not accidental. Memories of Japanโs wartime occupation remain deeply sensitive in China, and political leaders often invoke them
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