China demanded that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract a remark about a possible conflict over Taiwan, while a state-run newspaper called it Tokyo’s “first threat of force” against Beijing in 80 years, as a diplomatic spat between the two Asian nations escalated.
China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong summoned the Japanese ambassador on Thursday over Takaichi’s claim an armed Chinese attempt to seize Taiwan could pose an existential risk to her country. Sun said Takaichi should disavow her comments “otherwise all consequences must be borne by Japan,” according to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.