China Monitoring Desk Islamabad
The large-scale drills being carried out by the People’s Liberation Army around China’s Taiwan island are a stern punishment to the separatist forces on the island, which seek “Taiwan independence” through military buildup, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Monday 29 Dec.
The PLA Eastern Theater Command said on Monday that it is dispatching its Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force troops to conduct joint military drills, code-named “Justice Mission 2025”, in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast, and east of Taiwan.
The drills came less than two weeks after the United States announced an $11.1 billion arms sale package to the island.
The drills are a necessary action to safeguard China’s state sovereignty and territorial integrity, Lin told a regular news briefing.
The Democratic Progressive Party authorities are obstinately pursuing “Taiwan independence”, Lin said, adding that they are attempting to solicit US support and even willing to risk turning Taiwan into a “powder keg”.
“It fully shows that the DPP authorities are the one who destroys peace, creates crises, and stokes warfare,” the spokesman said.
“External forces attempt to use Taiwan to contain China and their moves to arm Taiwan will only embolden ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists, and push the strait toward military conflict,” Lin said.
The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests, Lin emphasized.
“Any egregious move of crossing the line and making provocations on the Taiwan question will face a resolute head-on blow from China,” he said. “Any ill-intention to stop China’s reunification is doomed to fail.”
Japanese citizens protest against Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan
Japanese citizens held a rally on 24 Dec evening in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her erroneous remarks on Taiwan and criticizing comments by a senior government official advocating nuclear armament.
At the rally, protesters chanted slogans such as “Uphold the Constitution” and “Do not incite war.” Mizuho Fukushima, leader of Japan’s Social Democratic Party, delivered a speech criticizing the direction of the government’s security policy. She said that public remarks by the official in charge of security policy at the Prime Minister’s Office advocating the possession of nuclear weapons have shaken Japan’s long-standing Three Non-Nuclear Principles.
Fukushima described the Takaichi cabinet as one “preparing for war,” noting that Japan’s defense budget has continued to rise and that its trajectory increasingly evokes memories of Japan before World War II.
Fukushima also strongly demanded that Takaichi retract her erroneous remarks on Taiwan, stressing that such statements clearly violate Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution.
RESURGENCE OF JAPANESE MILITARISM ! WORLD MUST STAND WARNED ! Opinion in Peaple’s Daily China
Koichi Nakano, a professor of international politics at Sophia University in Tokyo, told Xinhua that many people have a very limited understanding of the seriousness of Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, which he attributed to Japan’s long-standing lack of systematic and sufficient historical education. Nakano emphasized that Japan’s post-war constitution and the fundamental premise for Japan’s role in the international community should always be to “never repeat the mistakes of history.”
Chieko Okada, a citizen participating in the protest, pointed out that the government is attempting to downplay or even cover up Japan’s historical role as a perpetrator of war. She said that her biggest concern is that some citizens are supporting the government’s security policies without a true understanding of history, and that Takaichi “should retract her dangerous and erroneous statements.”
Global Times writes in its editorial :
The Japanese government has been sending out dangerous signals one after another. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has publicly stated that Japan will not rule out the possibility of introducing nuclear submarines and is preparing to push forward the revisions of the three documents on security and defense to “be prepared for possible long military conflict.”
Her close associate, Koichi Hagiuda, led a group of Japanese lawmakers who visited the Taiwan region and met with Lai Ching-te. Japanese media also revealed that Takaichi’s another close associate, Oue Sadamasa, was the one who previously made statements in favor of Japan possessing nuclear weapons.
This series of words and actions is by no means accidental or isolated incidents. Japan is transforming from a constrained nation in the post-war international order into a “troublemaker” for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and even the world.
