China has warned it will “crush” any foreign attempts to interfere on behalf of Taiwan, after Japan announced plans to deploy missiles near the democratically-governed island.
“We have a firm will, strong determination and a strong ability to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Peng Qingen, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a news conference on Wednesday.
“We will crush all foreign interference,” Peng said, speaking in response to a question on the planned deployment of missiles on a nearby Japanese island.
“Japan’s deployment of offensive weapons in areas adjacent to China’s Taiwan region is extremely dangerous, deliberately creating regional tensions and provoking military confrontation,” Peng said.
The comments follow Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s announcement on Sunday that Tokyo was moving forward with plans to deploy a missile system on Yonaguni, the country’s westernmost island located 110km (68 miles) off Taiwan’s east coast, which has hosted a Japanese military base since 2016.
Koizumi said the deployment of the medium-range surface-to-air missile system on Yonaguni would enhance Japan’s security.
“We believe that having this unit in place will actually lower the chances of an armed attack against our country,” he said.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs blasted the announcement, describing Japan’s plan as a “deliberate attempt to create regional tension and provoke military confrontation”.
Koizumi pushed back, saying the Type 03 guided missile system was purely defensive and “intended to counter aircraft and missiles invading our nation”.
“They are not intended to attack other countries, are deployed throughout Japan, and clearly do not heighten regional tensions,” he told reporters.
Taiwan has welcomed Japan’s announcement of increased military capability on Yonaguni, saying it “helps maintain security in the Taiwan Strait”.
“Of course, this is helpful to our national interests as Japan has no territorial designs or hostility towards Taiwan,” Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu said.
On Wednesday, Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te said the island will introduce a $40bn supplementary defence budget to defend itself in the face of a rising threat from China.
The budget will be allocated over eight years, from 2026 to 2033, and comes after Lai had already pledged to raise defence spending to 5 percent of the island’s gross domestic product (GDP).
‘Only plunge Taiwan into disaster’
Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory and has promised to unite the island with the Chinese mainland, an aspiration that Taipei says infringes on its sovereignty and that only Taiwan’s citizens can decide their future.
Unveiling the almost $40bn defence spending package on Wednesday, President Lai said history had proven that trying to compromise in the face of aggression brought nothing but “enslavement”.
“National sovereignty and the core values of freedom and democracy are the very foundation of our nation,” Lai said, adding that Taiwan’s spending showed its determination to defend itself.
Wellington Koo, Taiwan’s defence minister, said the $40bn package was an upper limit for the special budget, and it would be used to buy precision-strike missiles as well as investments in joint development and procurement between Taiwan and the United States.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson greeted news of Taipei’s increased spending on weapons as a waste.
“They squander funds that could be used to improve people’s livelihoods and develop the economy on purchasing weapons and currying favour with external powers,” Peng told reporters.
“This will only plunge Taiwan into disaster,” he added.
Amid growing tension in the Taiwan Strait, Japan said on Tuesday it had scrambled aircraft after detecting a suspected Chinese drone off Yonaguni.
“We confirmed that an unmanned aerial vehicle believed to be Chinese, passed between Yonaguni Island and Taiwan on Monday,” Japan’s Defence Ministry said on X.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have recently plummeted to their lowest level in years due to remarks by Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who suggested that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Takaichi’s off-the-cuff remark in the Japanese parliament about a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan triggering Japanese military action prompted a furious response from Beijing that has included a boycott by Chinese citizens on travelling to Japan.
Takaichi has declined Beijing’s demands to retract her remarks on Taiwan, while Tokyo has said it is willing to hold talks with Beijing at all levels to ease tensions.
