MEASURED RESPONSE BY CHINA – FOR NOW
China has escalated its response on multiple fronts.
On Thursday, its foreign ministry summoned Japan’s ambassador to warn against any interference in Taiwan.
By Friday night, China had expanded its pushback beyond diplomacy – issuing a travel advisory that targeted Japan’s tourism sector. About 7.5 million Chinese tourists visited Japan in the first nine months of this year, the largest number from any country and about one-fourth of the total.
China’s education ministry followed up with a warning to students on Sunday about recent crimes against Chinese in Japan, though it didn’t advise them not to go.
At sea, China has paired rhetoric with presence: Coast Guard patrols around the Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands and pre-announced PLA live-fire drills – actions calibrated to show resolve while staying below the threshold of direct confrontation.
Beijing’s response so far, Wang said, is about deterrence – not theatrics.
“It’s not just for domestic purposes – it’s mainly about (warning) Tokyo,” he said, adding that if Beijing fails to react early, “(Japan) will keep pushing further.”
He said Beijing was also watching “how the US responds – will Washington rein in its so-called allies?”
Fudan University’s Shen describes current Sino-US ties as “a long game”.
China is responding from a position of growing capability and intends to use a full toolkit, he said in his Weibo commentary.
“From public and diplomatic condemnation to economic sanctions, and when necessary, the precise use of military force” – sequenced and scaled over time.
The process “cannot be achieved overnight”, he cautioned, and is designed to correct and deter rather than to trigger a break.
This week, Japan’s embassy in China put out a cautionary travel advisory – warning citizens to exercise caution, travel in groups and avoid crowded places amid the deteriorating dispute.
The chill has also extended to cultural exchanges. Chinese distributors suspended the releases of at least two Japanese anime films.
Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! Scorching Kasukabe Dancers and Cells at Work! will not be shown in China, state broadcaster CCTV said in a report, calling it a “prudent decision” that reflected souring audience sentiment.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-japan-taiwan-diplomatic-row-takaichi-comments-5474366
