Why China sent letter to UN chief over Takaichi's erroneous remarks on Taiwan

Fu Cong, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has submitted a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres elaborating on the Chinese government's position regarding the erroneous remarks on China made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Why did China send this letter? What are China's political considerations, and what is China seeking to achieve? CGTN interviewed Wang Yiwei, Jean Monnet Chair professor and professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, and Lyu Yaodong, research professor of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, for their insights.

What are the key points in the letter?

Wang explained that the Chinese ambassador highlighted three points in the letter:

First, Japan is a defeated country of World War II and does not possess collective self-defense rights.

Second, under the UN Charter, China's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be protected. The Japanese prime minister's threat to intervene militarily in China's Taiwan region constitutes a severe infringement on China's sovereignty and territory.

Third, China can invoke the "enemy State" clauses in the UN Charter, meaning that if Japan uses force over Taiwan, China could launch a counterattack in accordance with international law.

Why did China send the letter to the UN chief?

Lyu said Fu's letter to the UN secretary-general is primarily intended to point out that Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan violate international law and the norms of international relations. He noted that as a defeated nation in World War II, the UN Charter explicitly prohibits Japan from possessing collective self-defense rights. However, Japan has recently claimed that "a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency" and linked it to the exercise of collective self-defense – a blatant violation of the UN Charter.

Lyu added that the Charter's "enemy State" clauses contain clear provisions for responding to any renewed acts of aggression or use of force by former Axis powers. These provisions are determined by the historical mission and nature of the United Nations itself, which was established in the context of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.

What is China's core demand?

Lyu explained that China's aim is to make clear that if Japan – an aggressor state during World War II – moves toward rearmament in ways that threaten peace and security in East Asia and globally, it must be constrained by the international legal framework established by the UN Charter after World War II.

Wang echoed this view, saying China's core objective is to reaffirm Japan's identity as a defeated country in World War II and to emphasize that if Japan intervenes militarily in the Taiwan Strait, China can invoke the "enemy State" clauses in the UN Charter at any time – a response that would be both reasonable and lawful.

"China is sending a message to the international community: if Japan gets militarily involved in the Taiwan question, China would have justified and legitimate grounds to counterattack," Wang said.

Why circulate the letter to all UN member states?

"Distributing the letter to all UN member states serves primarily as a warning to Japan not to act rashly, not to rearm and not to undermine world peace," Lyu said.

He added that the letter also aims to make the international community aware that Japan is already moving to erode the constraints of its pacifist constitution, passing domestic laws to lift restrictions on collective self-defense and developing offensive weapons.

"Japan has already been taking steps to prepare and test for potential future military action," Lyu warned, adding that recent attempts to revise the three non-nuclear principles and relax the rules on transferring defense equipment are clear signals.

He said that for a country that has long portrayed itself as following a post-war pacifist path, now seeking to break out of its Pacifist Constitution, becoming a country capable of waging war and even issuing military threats is deeply destabilizing for East Asia and global peace.

"We must use this letter to the UN to alert the international community that Japan, as a defeated aggressor of World War II, is rearming and making reckless threats of force," Lyu said.