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Alyssa Chen

Under the gaze of global media earlier this month, Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi warned Tokyo not to interfere in affairs related to Taiwan, saying that doing so would “invite trouble”.
His remarks – made at a press briefing on the sidelines of the annual National People’s Congress – reflect how important the Taiwan issue is to Beijing in its bilateral ties.
The situation unravelled last week, days after Wang met Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo. Japan lodged a protest over a Chinese statement on the meeting which it said misquoted Ishiba as saying that Tokyo “respected the positions explained by the Chinese side”.
Japan’s foreign ministry denied the statement had been made by Ishiba.
Wang also repeated Beijing’s stance on key issues – including Taiwan and historical matters – and called on Japan to uphold its political commitments to China, according to the Chinese statement.
This is just the latest tense exchange between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan in recent years. Here’s why the self-governed island has become a flashpoint in the relationship.

Why Beijing is on edge
Taiwan came under Japanese colonial rule after the Qing dynasty lost the first Sino-Japanese war and ceded the island to Japan in 1895. Taiwan was then returned to China in 1945 at the end of World War II, when China was ruled by the Kuomintang, or Nationalists.
When the Communist Party won a decades-long conflict with the KMT in 1949, the Kuomintang government fled to Taiwan.
Beijing regards Taiwan as a part of China that should be reunited – by force if necessary. Most countries, including Japan and the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but are opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force.
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have been strained in the past by Taiwanese politicians visiting Japan. They include Hsu Li-teh, who was Taiwan’s vice-premier when he travelled to Hiroshima for the Asian Games in 1994. And Lee Teng-hui, the former Taiwanese leader who went to Japan for medical treatment in 2001.
Beijing is particularly concerned that Tokyo could strengthen its alliance with Washington and that they could together use Taiwan to contain Beijing.
During his trip to Japan on the weekend, US defence chief Pete Hegseth renewed Washington’s commitment to “sustaining robust, ready and credible deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait”.
“Japan would be on the front lines of any contingency we might face in the western Pacific and we stand together in support of each other,” he told reporters after talks with Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani in Tokyo.


Back in 2021 remarks made by former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe that “a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency” and that “it is also a contingency for the Japan-US alliance” drew a strong protest from Beijing.
They also raised awareness in Japan of the potential security implications of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, and garnered support among Japanese politicians. In recent years, Japanese lawmakers have made repeated trips to Taiwan despite Beijing’s objections.
All of this has caused Beijing to perceive that Tokyo is trying to intervene in its domestic affairs, and the ruling Communist Party has become increasingly concerned about any Japanese moves in relation to Taiwan.
Taiwan and Japanese security
Beyond historical ties, tensions over Taiwan’s status also stem from Tokyo’s strategic calculations as well as national security considerations.
The Taiwan Strait is a crucial maritime passage for Japan, vital for accessing the imported resources and energy that flow in from the Strait of Malacca.
Japan relies on imports for its energy supply – in 2023 imports made up nearly 88 per cent of the total. That has a significant influence on the country’s energy policies and planning.
Tokyo’s leadership has meanwhile long been wary of Beijing’s rapid military build-up given Japan’s geographical proximity to Taiwan – its westernmost territory, Yonaguni Island, is just 110km (68 miles) away.
Some observers have said that if Beijing were to take control of Taiwan by force it would also jeopardise Japan’s economic ties with the island, especially the semiconductor supply chain.
There has been talk of the potential for US military bases in Japan being attacked if the People’s Liberation Army were to seize Taiwan. That could also put the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea – known as the Senkakus in Japan and claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo – at risk of being taken by force.
Driven by concerns over potential Chinese aggression, Japan has stepped up its military preparedness. It has committed to acquire counterstrike capabilities against missile attacks, increased defence spending and improved combat readiness, in collaboration with the US.
In Tokyo on Sunday, Hegseth said the Pentagon had begun an upgrade of US Forces Japan, a move announced by his predecessor Lloyd Austin in July. Hegseth said it would become a joint force “warfighting headquarters” with increased staff and the authority needed to accomplish new missions.


What is Japan’s stance on Taiwan?
The issue of Taiwan dominated talks between Chinese and Japanese leaders before they normalised diplomatic relations in 1972.
The China-Japan Joint Communique signed that year states that Tokyo “fully understands and respects” Beijing’s position that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China and it firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation”.
That article of the 1945 proclamation – signed between the United States, Britain and China and accepted by Japan for surrender in World War II – states that the terms of the Cairo Declaration should be carried out. That declaration was signed two years earlier by leaders of the same three countries and said Japan would be stripped of all territories it had seized by force, including Taiwan.
Lian Degui, director of the Centre for Japanese Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, noted that the 1972 joint statement on Taiwan was “somewhat ambiguous” in its wording.
He said that from Beijing’s perspective, “the core message of the China-Japan Joint Communique is Japan’s acknowledgement, albeit indirectly, that Taiwan is part of China”.
But Lian believed the view in Japan remained one of “understanding and respect” rather than recognition.
Some Chinese analysts see the use of “understands and respects” rather than “accepts” as a cause of trouble in the bilateral relationship.


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The self-governed island has long been a source of tension between China and Japan


The self-governed island has long been a source of tension between China and Japan.


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Explainer | Taiwan has become a flashpoint for Beijing and Tokyo. Here’s why

The self-governed island has long been a source of tension between China and Japan