China’s Foreign Ministry has fired a warning shot after a senior Japanese official suggested Tokyo should reconsider its ban on nuclear weapons in light of a worsening security environment in the region.
“As a non-nuclear weapons state to the NTP [Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons], Japan must completely observe the regulations of not permitting, not producing, not possessing, and not proliferating nuclear weapons,” he said, stressing these obligations are “not bargaining chips that can be negotiated.”
“If Japan dares to pitch itself against the rest of the world, we will never allow it to test the bottom line and international justice.”
Speaking on background, the Japanese official, who advises Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on security matters, told reporters Thursday the time had come to begin discussions on obtaining a nuclear deterrent—a move that would upend Japan’s 8-decade postwar ban on the capability。
The remark comes amid flaring tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over Takaichi’s November 7 remarks that a Chinese military blockade around Taiwan would constitute a “survival threatening situation” for Japan, a rare exception under that country’s pacifist constitution that would allow for a military intervention alongside U.S. forces.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with additional information.
Read the full article here
