Takaichi effect? China bans export of military-use items to Japan

China has banned the export of military items along with the commercial applications to end the Japanese consultation and linking amid protracted diplomatic unrest between the two nations.  

Beijing’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday that the export of the respective items were the used entities for the military purposes that would contribute to enhance the military preparedness of Japan, which is now restricted to enter the other border.  

The dual-use items could significantly contribute to the functionality or development of the production of weapons and military systems.  

Common examples include drones and rare earth elements – essential raw materials for numerous goods in the tech and defence sectors – as well as high-performance semiconductors.

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Takaichi’s Taiwan remark 

The spat between Beijing and Tokyo came with Beijing’s claim over Taiwan and Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi taking charge. Japan has shown its support towards Taiwan whereas China has considered it as its own territory. Overall, the relations between China and Japan look bleak in the coming year.

Organisations and individuals that transfer or supply these items to Japan in violation of the new provisions will be held legally accountable, the ministry said in its statement, which did not specify which goods would be included.

Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said at a press conference on Tuesday that along with “peace-loving countries and peoples around the world”, Beijing will “never allow Japan’s right-wing forces to turn back the wheel of history” or “allow militarism to make a comeback”.

Sanae Takaichi’s Taiwan remark on November 7 angered China which said “a hypothetical attack on Taiwan could constitute an existential threat warranting a military response under the limitations of Tokyo’s pacifist constitution.”

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Exchange of heated arguments continue

In the previous months, either side has backed down and the exchange of heated arguments continued causing diplomatic gap between the two. China has cautioned its citizens against trips to Japan, and numerous events promoting cultural and business exchange have also been cancelled.

Particularly under Takaichi, who took office last October, Japan is redoubling its efforts to become a global arms powerhouse, with the prime minister stating her intention to ease restrictions on defence exports and accelerate investment in the nation’s military sector.

In late November, Japan’s cabinet approved a supplementary budget proposal that included 1.1 trillion yen (US$7.1 billion) in additional defence spending, which would bring total expenditures to 11 trillion yen – more than 2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Mao of China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that this reflects Japan’s accelerating “re-militarisation”, a trend which she said would “undermine regional peace and stability” and should be met with a “high degree of vigilance” by the international community.

‘Most serious blow to ties’ 

Liu Jiangyong, a Japan specialist and professor of international affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, along with Tokyo’s more hawkish stance in recent years, have dealt the “most serious” blow to ties since relations were normalised in 1972.

“This shock will not only deepen political and structural problems between the two sides but inevitably spill over into other areas,” Liu said.