Following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan, China has intensified diplomatic efforts to isolate Japan, reaching consensus with Russia in high-level talks. Beijing's response includes coordinated media attacks and economic pressure. The dispute underscores tensions over regional security.
On Nov. 7, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that a Chinese military assault on Taiwan could constitute an existential crisis for Japan. Beijing's reaction was swift: state media launched coordinated attacks, economic pressure mounted, and diplomatic tensions escalated. This was not spontaneous outrage but calculated coercion, a playbook Beijing has refined over years of punishing those who speak uncomfortable truths.
The pattern reveals more about China's anxieties than Japan's alleged provocations. Takaichi merely articulated what military strategists have long understood: roughly 90% of Japan's energy imports transit waters near Taiwan, and $2.3 trillion in annual Japanese trade flows through these sea lanes. Her statement was strategic candor, inheriting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's clear-eyed realism about China.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in Moscow on Tuesday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and top security official Sergei Shoigu, reaching a "high degree of consensus" on issues related to Japan. The two sides agreed to pursue "higher quality" strategic coordination while criticizing Japan for alleged rising militarism. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry readout, "The two sides conducted strategic alignment on issues related to Japan, reaching a high degree of consensus." They pledged to "resolutely uphold the outcomes of World War II victory, firmly oppose any attempts to whitewash colonial aggression, and resolutely counter any attempts to revive fascism or Japanese militarism." This diplomatic outreach is seen as part of Beijing's effort to isolate Tokyo amid the nearly monthlong dispute over Takaichi's Taiwan remarks.