Japan tempting fate if it interferes in the situation of Taiwan Strait

Any sane person would wonder how Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dared to blatantly challenge China's core interests and publicly discuss the possibility of military intervention in the Taiwan question.

Any rational Japanese leader should refrain from interfering in the Taiwan Strait situation, let alone threatening the use of armed forces against China as a response to the Taiwan question, which is China's internal affair and brooks no outside interference.

The People's Liberation Army is a strong fighting force with the capability to defend the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Indulging in verbal bravado, such as invoking a so-called "survival-threatening situation" to justify military intervention in the Taiwan Strait, may satisfy the militaristic fantasies of some Japanese right-wingers. But if acted upon, that bravado will have catastrophic consequences for Japan.

In a recent television show, former Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba mentioned Japan's military adventure against the United States, namely the attack on Pearl Harbor, drawing a connection between that historical event and his nation's current military threat against China.

Ishiba indicated that Japan could never have defeated the US during World War II for its national strength was one-tenth that of the US at that time and such a war would consume all of Japan's resources. He noted that why the policymakers chose to start a war when they knew Japan could not win is a question Japan should carefully reflect on today.

He raised a point that is pertinent to Japan today, "When decisions were being made back then, whoever spoke louder and appeared more bold and aggressive would dominate", pointing out that burning one's bridges while facing a strong opponent was equivalent to committing suicide.

Pursuing peace and not seeking conflict are in the genes of the Chinese people, but that does not mean they will meekly swallow insults, humiliation and provocation.

As Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, a spokesman for China's Defense Ministry, put it at a news conference last week, how to solve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, and has nothing to do with Japan.

"Instead of repenting its war crimes of invading and colonizing Taiwan, Japan is taking an extremely wrong approach by suggesting military intervention in a so-called Taiwan contingency," he said.

If Tokyo continues to pursue this dangerous approach of trying to uproot the post-World War II international order, it will only lead Japan to repeat the mistakes of its militarist past.

The PLA has strong capabilities and reliable means to defeat any aggressors. Should Japan dare to cross the red line and invite trouble to itself, it is destined to pay a heavy price, Jiang warned.

Eighty years ago, the brave Chinese people, after 14 years of bloodshed and resistance, defeated the Japanese aggressors. Eighty years later, should Japan misjudge the situation and dare to intervene militarily in a cross-Strait situation, such a move would constitute an act of aggression and China will give it a resolute, head-on blow. China will resolutely exercise the right of self-defense granted by the UN Charter and international law, and firmly safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Whether pushing for an expanded military in violation of the pacifist Constitution or invoking the so-called survival-threatening situation, Japanese politicians have never told the Japanese people what the real costs would be. It is foreseeable that should Japan intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait, both the Japanese people and the country itself would plunge into disaster as a result of the government's extremely dangerous and misguided decisions, as the PLA Daily pointed out in a recent op-ed article.

History's warnings are not far behind us. If Japan refuses to draw profound lessons from its past and dares to take reckless risks, China will deliver a resolute and crushing response.