Alarm after overflight between Yonaguni and Taiwan. China rules out G20 summit between prime ministers Beijing and Tokyo
Japan says it has scrambled fighter jets after the suspected sighting of a Chinese drone near Taiwan. According to the Ministry of Defense on The Japan Air Self-Defense Force then scrambled its fighters from the air defense command following protocols for responding to violations or perceived threats in the airspace. The episode apparently occurred on November 15, a few hours after Prime Minister Takaichi’s words on the state of the autonomous island.
Tokyo maintains constant monitoring of the area, considered strategic by the main players in the region for international trade, because it constitutes one of the main maritime routes in the world.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang rules out any meeting with her Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi on the occasion of the upcoming G20 leaders’ summit scheduled for South Africa, confirming the bitter tensions between the two countries. “I can tell you that Premier Li Qiang has no intention of meeting the Japanese leader,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said during the daily briefing.
Mao, in response to media inquiries about reports that Masaaki Kanai, director general of the Asian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, was scheduled to visit Beijing as early as today with the aim of holding consultations on bilateral tensions, replied that “China will promptly publish information, if there is any.” The Japanese prime minister, during a parliamentary session on November 7, stated that “the use of force on Taiwan” by China could constitute a “situation that threatens the survival” of Japan and therefore cause Tokyo to intervene on the basis of “collective self-defense”. Judgments that triggered the harsh Chinese reaction which considers Taiwan a “sacred” and “inalienable” part of its territory to be reunited even by force, if necessary. Beijing “has presented and will continue to present solemn representations and strong protests to the Japanese counterpart, earnestly asking Japan to reflect and immediately correct its mistakes, to retract erroneous statements and to stop creating incidents on issues involving China”, added Mao.
Taiwanese President William Lai said China had had a “severe” impact on regional peace in its dispute with Japan, triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s statements on Taiwan. Lai, according to local media, called on Beijing to “show restraint, act as a great power and not become the instigator of unrest” in the Asia-Pacific, where peace and stability have been “severely compromised.” The diplomatic clash between Beijing and Tokyo started from Takaichi’s comments according to which the Rising Sun could intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
