China Spurns Japan’s Trilateral Meet Over Takaichi’s Taiwan Remarks

China has rejected Japan’s proposal to hold a trilateral summit with South Korea in January following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about a Taiwan contingency, diplomatic sources said. Kyodo News reported.

After Takaichi’s comments in parliament, China urged its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan and halted seafood imports from its neighbor. (Photo: PM's Office of Japan X) 

Japan, this year’s chair of the framework, was hoping to hold the summit at an early date, but its realization has become increasingly uncertain, as there are no prospects to even discuss a specific timetable for the meeting, the sources said.

Earlier this month, Takaichi said a Taiwan emergency involving the use of military force by China could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, possibly allowing it to exercise the right of collective self-defense.

After Takaichi’s comments in parliament, China, which insists self-ruled democratic Taiwan is its own territory, urged its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan and halted seafood imports from its neighbor.

Beijing also notified Seoul of the postponement of a Japan–China–South Korea culture ministerial meeting, underscoring that the fallout from Takaichi’s remarks has spread beyond bilateral ties and is affecting trilateral cooperation, Mainichi Japan also reported.