Xi rattled by Takaichi? China sends ships to patrol islands claimed by Japan after Taiwan remarks

Amid the brewing diplomatic feud between Japan and China, Beijing on Sunday sent Coast Guard ships to patrol near islands claimed by both nations. The escalation came after controversial comments by Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, a self-governed democracy that China considers part of its territory.

Earlier this month, Takaichi told the Japanese Parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo. On Friday, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo warned its citizens against travelling to Japan because of what it described as serious safety risks.

While China did not provide any evidence of security risks, it warned that the advisory could affect an important part of Japan’s tourism economy. It is important to note that nearly seven million Chinese travellers visited the country last year, accounting for nearly one in five international tourists, according to Japan’s tourism bureau.

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China’s recent escalation

Amid the diplomatic row, on Sunday, China’s Coast Guard said that some of its ships were patrolling the waters of uninhabited islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. While Japan controls the islands, China also has its claims.

The islands are located north of Japan’s westernmost islands and near Taiwan. While China regularly conducts what it describes as “rights enforcement patrols” in waters around the islands, the latest patrol announcement was the first since Takaichi’s Taiwan comments.

Not only this, China’s Education Ministry also warned Chinese students on Sunday to “carefully plan” their study arrangements in Japan. The ministry said, without providing any evidence, that there had been recent crimes against Chinese citizens and that safety risks were rising.

The recent feud spoiled whatever brief diplomatic ties the two nations established after Takaichi, a conservative prime minister who has been in office for less than a month, had a warm meeting with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, last month in South Korea. However, the ties between the two nations have soured for decades.

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While Takaichi later said that her comments did not constitute a change in Japanese policy, China’s Foreign Ministry demanded that the Japanese premier retract her remarks, and Chinese diplomats and commentators unleashed a stream of vitriol.