By Ryan Woo
BEIJING (Reuters) -China on Friday warned Japan of a "crushing" military defeat if it uses force to intervene over Taiwan, and even cautioned Chinese citizens against visits to Japan, angered by its prime minister's remarks about the island, which Beijing claims.
Tokyo on Friday summoned Beijing's ambassador to Japan to protest against a top Chinese diplomat's online post about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, continuing a tit-for-tat spat that has run for a week.
Takaichi sparked a diplomatic row with Beijing with comments in parliament last week that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a "survival-threatening situation" and trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Last Saturday, China's Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, shared a news article about Takaichi's remarks about Taiwan on X and commented "the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off" in a now-deleted post.
The Japanese foreign ministry retaliated by summoning the Chinese ambassador to Japan for what it called "extremely inappropriate" statements made by Xue.
Some senior Japanese political figures have called for Xue's expulsion, but Tokyo has so far only asked Beijing to "take appropriate measures" without elaborating.
Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said that Takaichi's words were extremely irresponsible and dangerous.
"Should the Japanese side fail to draw lessons from history and dare to take a risk, or even use force to interfere in the Taiwan question, it will only suffer a crushing defeat against the steel-willed People's Liberation Army and pay a heavy price," Jiang said in a statement.
On Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry summoned Japan's ambassador to China to lodge a "strong protest" over Takaichi's remarks.
It was the first time in more than two years that Beijing has called in a Japanese ambassador. It last summoned the then-ambassador in August 2023 over Japan's decision to release wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.
The ministry on Friday also expressed "serious concerns" about Japan's recent military and security moves, including ambiguity over its non-nuclear principles.
Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference that Japan's decision not to rule out acquiring nuclear submarines indicates a major "negative" policy shift.
Late on Friday the ministry asked Chinese citizens to avoid travelling to Japan in the near future, citing deteriorating ties over Takaichi's remarks and the "significant risks" its nationals would face there.
LINGERING GRIEVANCES
Chinese state media has weighed in with a series of vitriolic editorials and commentaries lambasting Takaichi, given lingering grievances about Japan's wartime past and China's extreme sensitivity over anything Taiwan-related, just two weeks after Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Takaichi in South Korea.
Takaichi's remarks were by no means an "isolated political rant," the Communist Party's People's Daily said earlier on Friday in a commentary.
Japan's right wing has been trying to loosen some of the constraints of the country's post-World War Two constitution and pursue the status of a military power, said the commentary published under the pen name "Zhong Sheng", meaning "Voice of China" and often used to give views on foreign policy.
"In recent years, Japan has been racing headlong down the path of military buildup," the paper added.
"From frequent visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, to denying the Nanjing Massacre, to vigorously hyping the 'China threat theory,' Takaichi's every step follows the old footprints of historical guilt, attempting to whitewash a history of aggression and revive militarism."
World War Two and the Japanese invasion of China which preceded it in 1931 remain a source of ongoing tension between Beijing and Tokyo.
Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's claims and says only its people can decide the island's future.
Taiwan sits just over 110 km (68 miles) from Japanese territory and the waters around the island provide a vital sea route for trade that Tokyo depends on. Japan also hosts the largest contingent of U.S. military overseas.
Japanese broadcaster NTV reported on Friday the Chinese embassy in Tokyo had instructed its staff to avoid going out due to concerns about rising anti-China sentiment.
In a regular news conference, Japan's top government spokesperson Minoru Kihara reiterated the country's position on Taiwan, telling reporters that Tokyo hopes for a peaceful resolution of the issue through dialogue.
'SELF-DIRECTED FARCE'
China has also cranked up its rhetoric against what it calls "diehard" Taiwan independence separatists.
On Friday, the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office criticised Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Puma Shen, who visited Berlin earlier this week. Shen said China was threatening to try to get him arrested while abroad, but that he was not frightened.
"Taiwan independence advocates are already at the dusk of their days and at a dead end," the office's spokesperson Chen Binhua said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
A day earlier, Chinese police issued a wanted notice and offered a $35,000 reward for two Taiwanese social media influencers they accused of "separatism".
The two influencers took to social media to poke fun at the wanted notice.
One of them, the rapper Mannam PYC, posted a video on Friday where he tried to turn himself in to police in Taiwan.
"Why won't the Taiwan police arrest me? Does that mean everyone supports Taiwan independence?" he wrote, sarcastically.
China's legal system has no authority or jurisdiction in Taiwan.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Satoshi Sugiyama and Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Shri Navaratnam)
