China escalated political, diplomatic, and military pressure on Japan this Tuesday with new reproaches and an expansion of its live-fire maneuvers in the Yellow Sea, amid tensions over recent statements by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about a possible Japanese intervention in a conflict over Taiwan.
The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration announced last night the extension of the military exercises that began this Monday, which will now last until November 25 and involve the total prohibition of navigation between 08:00 and 18:00 hours in an area of the southern Yellow Sea.
The notice does not detail the means involved or the specific purpose of the exercise.
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This new statement follows another issued on the 15th for a different area in the central sector of the same sea, where the exercises began this Monday.
New Protests
During a round of consultations held this morning in Beijing between the director of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liu Jinsong, and the director of the Japanese Asia and Oceania Office, Masaaki Kanai, China presented new formal protests over Takaichi's statements.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, his words "seriously violated" international law, "undermined the post-war international order," and "fundamentally damaged" the political basis of the bilateral relationship, as well as "provoking the indignation of the Chinese people."
Tokyo must "immediately withdraw its erroneous statements" and "stop creating problems on issues related to China," said spokeswoman Mao Ning, who demanded "concrete actions" from Japan to remedy the situation.
Chinese discontent also projected onto the United States. Mao called the statements of the U.S. ambassador to Japan, George Glass, who reiterated Washington's commitment to the defense of the disputed Senkaku Islands (known as 'Diaoyu' in China) after the recent presence of Chinese Coast Guard ships in the area, a "malicious political spectacle".
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