China opposes Japan's bid for permanent UN seat

China, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, pushed back on Tuesday against Japan's bid for a permanent seat, saying its recent comments on Taiwan showed it is "totally unqualified".

At the UN General Assembly's annual debate on Security Council reform, Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, said Japan is "totally unqualified" to seek a permanent seat on the Security Council.

Fu said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently made a "brazen, provocative" statement on Taiwan at the Parliament, claiming that a "Taiwan contingency" could be a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan. She implied that Japan may invoke the so-called right to collective self-defense to interfere militarily in the Taiwan Strait.

"Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan are extremely erroneous and dangerous," Fu said. "They constitute a gross interference in China's internal affairs and a serious breach of the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan."

They are an affront to international justice, damage the postwar international order, trample on the basic norms of international relations, and represent a blatant departure from Japan's commitment to peaceful development, he said.

In his response to Japan, Fu questioned the intention behind the remarks. "What is her true intention? Is Japan going to repeat its past mistakes of militarism?"

Given these positions, he asked whether the international community can trust Japan's "professed commitment to peaceful development", and whether Japan can be relied upon to "uphold fairness and justice" or "shoulder the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security".

"Our message to Japan is clear — Japan should immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs, retract its wrongful, provocative remarks and actions, and refrain from playing with fire on the Taiwan question," he said.

Consequences warned

Any attempt by Japan to intervene militarily would have consequences, Fu said.

"If Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression and would definitely be met with a firm response from China.

"We will exercise our right to self-defense under the UN Charter and international law and resolutely defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea also raised concerns about Japan's bid for a permanent Security Council seat.

Kim Song, permanent representative of the DPRK to the UN, said his delegation "maintains its consistent position that Japan must never be allowed to obtain a permanent seat on the Security Council".

"Instead of apologizing for and compensating these past crimes against humanity, Japan is now revising its Peace Constitution and moving toward becoming a military power," he said.

"The attempt by such a country to secure a permanent seat on the Security Council constitutes an insult to the UN Charter and an affront to international justice."

The 15-member Security Council is the only UN body whose decisions are legally binding on all member states. Japan has long sought a permanent seat on the council, citing its record of serving 12 times as a non-permanent member.