Chinese FM Wang Yi reiterates solemn position on China-Japan relations

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and China's foreign minister, attended the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, where he delivered a speech at the "China in the World" session and answered questions from the audience.

When asked about China's responsibility regarding the resurgence of tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, Wang expressed his disagreement with the notion that regional tensions are escalating. Looking around the world, he noted that Asia remains the only region maintaining overall peace. Even the recent conflict on the Cambodia-Thailand border was swiftly resolved through the efforts of all parties, with China playing its part.

China has become the mainstay of peace in Asia, Wang said. As a significant force for peace in the modern world, China will continue to play a constructive role in regional peace and stability, he added.

Wang said that Asia is not without its challenges, and vigilance is required regarding recent dangerous trends in Japan. Japan's sitting prime minister has gone so far as to publicly claim that a contingency in the Taiwan Strait would constitute a "situation of existential crisis," allowing Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense. This marks the first time in the 80 years since World War Two that a Japanese prime minister has publicly made such a reckless statement, directly challenging China's national sovereignty, the post-war international order in which Taiwan has been returned to China and the political commitments Japan made to China.

China certainly cannot accept this – nor will the 1.4 billion Chinese people, Wang said.

Since the meeting was being held in Germany, Wang said, a comparison could be drawn between the post-war settlements of Japan and Europe. After the war, Germany conducted a thorough liquidation of fascism and enacted laws prohibiting the promotion of Nazism. In contrast, Japan continues to honor Class-A war criminals in its shrine, with Japanese politicians making frequent visits to pay homage to them as so-called "heroic souls." Such a phenomenon is unimaginable in Europe, and this is the root cause of all these issues.

Wang emphasized that the Japanese leader's erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question expose Japan's lingering ambitions to invade and colonize Taiwan, as well as the unyielding spirit of reviving militarism. Japan previously used the so-called "situation of existential crisis" as a pretext to launch its invasion of China and the attack on Pearl Harbor in the U.S.. The lessons of history are not far off – and they must be heeded.

If Japan refuses to repent, Wang said, it is bound to repeat its past mistakes, and peace-loving people must be on guard. The Japanese people must be reminded not to be blinded or coerced again by far-right forces and extremist ideologies, he added. All peace-loving countries must also issue a warning to Japan: if it seeks to turn back the clock of history, it will lead to self-destruction, Wang said. If Japan gambles again, it will only face a swifter defeat and a more disastrous loss, he warned.