China’s Defense Ministry: Japan’s Nuclear Ambitions Must Not Be Indulged; Challenges to Red Lines Cannot Be Tolerated
China’s Ministry of National Defense held a routine press conference on the afternoon of July 30, where ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Jiang Bin answered questions from reporters. A reporter asked about repeated comments by Japan’s defense minister that Japan should discuss nuclear-weapons-related policies without taboo, including whether to revise the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles” that Japan has followed for many years since World War II. Jiang said the Japanese defense minister’s remarks were “highly provocative and dangerous.” He said they had once again exposed what he called Japan’s disguise and lies aimed at deceiving the international community, and questioned whether Japan was trying to test public opinion and lay the groundwork for an ulterior agenda while challenging the international community’s basic sense of justice. Jiang said Japan is internationally recognized as a nuclear-threshold state and has stockpiled approximately 44.4 tons of separated plutonium, deliberately maintaining the ability to pursue a nuclear breakout in a short period of time. He said Japan’s efforts to break through the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles” seriously violate its international legal obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, severely undermine the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and seriously threaten the gains of victory in World War II and the postwar international order. “Japan’s nuclear ambitions must not be indulged, and challenges to red lines cannot be tolerated,” Jiang said. Otherwise, he warned, once “Pandora’s box” is opened, the consequences would be unthinkable. The international community and people from all sectors of Japanese society, he said, must remain highly vigilant and resolutely prevent such developments.
A reporter asked about repeated comments by Japan’s defense minister that Japan should discuss nuclear-weapons-related policies without taboo, including whether to revise the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles” that Japan has followed for many years since World War II.
Jiang said the Japanese defense minister’s remarks were “highly provocative and dangerous.” He said they had once again exposed what he called Japan’s disguise and lies aimed at deceiving the international community, and questioned whether Japan was trying to test public opinion and lay the groundwork for an ulterior agenda while challenging the international community’s basic sense of justice.
Jiang said Japan is internationally recognized as a nuclear-threshold state and has stockpiled approximately 44.4 tons of separated plutonium, deliberately maintaining the ability to pursue a nuclear breakout in a short period of time.
He said Japan’s efforts to break through the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles” seriously violate its international legal obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, severely undermine the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and seriously threaten the gains of victory in World War II and the postwar international order.
“Japan’s nuclear ambitions must not be indulged, and challenges to red lines cannot be tolerated,” Jiang said. Otherwise, he warned, once “Pandora’s box” is opened, the consequences would be unthinkable. The international community and people from all sectors of Japanese society, he said, must remain highly vigilant and resolutely prevent such developments.