By Huang Huikang and Huang Feiye
Japanese right-wing politicians have been talking a lot of nonsense over the Taiwan question recently. Japanese Deputy Defense MinisterYasuhide Nakayama said at a seminar in the US that Japan must protect the existence of Taiwan as a democratic country.Then the Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso vowed to “defend” Taiwan along with the US exercising its right to collective defense if the Chinese mainland uses force against Taiwan, which will be regarded by Tokyo as a “state of survival crisis”. These remarks, extremely wrong, conceited, short-sighted and dangerous, aroused strong indignation among the Chinese people. The Chinese government has lodged a stern protest to the Japanese side.
The crazy remarks by Japanese politicians are politically dangerous. Four political documents, including the Japan-China Joint Communiqué of 1972 and the China-JapanTreaty of Peace and Friendship of 1978, legally confirmed and consolidated the political foundation for China-Japan relations. The two countries have also reached a consensus to develop their ties in the spirit of “learning from history, looking ahead to the future”. These are hard-won achievements by the two countries and reflect the common aspiration of their peoples for peace and development. The constant fallacious remarks by Japanese right-wingers on the Taiwan question violated the international law and the basic principle of international relations, went back on Tokyo’s political commitment to China on the issue, contravened the spirit of the four China-Japan political documents, and seriously eroded the political foundation for bilateral relations., which were blatant destruction of the good-neighborly and friendly relationship between the two countries.
The crazy remarks by Japanese politicians are strategically short-sighted. At the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and on the eve of the 84th anniversary of the July 7 Incident of 1937, Taro Aso and right-wing politicians’ clamoring about the “US-Japan joint defense of Taiwan”, intended to curb China’s development and gain political capital for themselves, exposed a few Japanese politicians’ ambitions to revive militarism, their stupidity of not learning from historical lessons, and their strategic short-sightedness and complete lack of moral credibility. Dancing so willingly to America’s tune, they harbor the speculative intention to fish in the troubled waters of China-US struggle, but it is exactly their myopia that has blinded them to the general trend of the world and the consequences of fueling flames. They should be prepared to pay a heavy price if they don’t stop their dangerous words and deeds immediately.
The crazy remarks by Japanese politicians are legally liable. The militarist Japan used to commit numerous crimes of aggression upon China and southeast Asian countries and was an “enemy state” in the Second World War officially labeled by the Charter of the United Nations, Article 107 of which states, “Nothing in the present Charter shall invalidate or preclude action, in relation to any state which during the Second World War has been an enemy of any signatory to the present Charter, taken or authorized as a result of that war by the Governments having responsibility for such action.” Should Japan dare to cross the line on the Taiwan question, it would trigger this article and invite upon itself powerful actions by governments having responsibility for such action.
There is only one China, Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing China – these are facts long acknowledged by the international community. Japan should reflect deeply on history, make a correct judgment of the current situation, and correct its mistakes right away. It should abide by the one-China principle and the spirit of the four China-Japan political documents with concrete actions, speak and act cautiously about the Taiwan question, and stop all wrong remarks and moves on the topic. The Taiwan question concerns China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests. China will not allow any country to meddle in the issue in any form. No one should underestimate the Chinese people’s firm resolve, iron will and mighty strength in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity!
(The author is from the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University)
