China is lashing back at remarks by top Japanese officials that Japan would help defend Taiwan. Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro on Monday said that Japan and the US would need to defend Taiwan if China invaded Taiwan.
During a routine press conference Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said these comments “are extremely wrong and dangerous. They would undermine the political foundations of China-Japan ties.”
During the press conference, a Bloomberg reporter asked Zhao if a Chinese attack could be seen as an existential threat to Japan. If that was the case, Japan could deploy its Self-Defense Forces to exercise collective self-defense and help defend Taiwan. To that, Zhao mentioned the history of the Japanese invasion of China in the 20th century, and said "today's China is not what it was then.”
Zhao also said that China would not let any country interfere in the Taiwan issue, and that “No one should underestimate the Chinese people's staunch resolve, firm will, and formidable ability to defend national sovereignty”.