China warns it will 'never allow' the resurgence of Japanese militarism amid tensions over Taiwan

China "will never allow" the return of Japanese "militarism," saying that "right-wing forces" in Japan will turn back "the wheel of history." This was warned Saturday by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a new chapter of the verbal escalation between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan.

During a meeting in Dushanbe with his Tajikistani counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Wang Yi thanked Taijikistan for its "firm support" on issues affecting "China's core interests," including Taiwan, and delivered a tough message aimed at Japan.

"China will never allow Japan's right-wing forces to turn back the wheel of history, nor will it allow interference by outside forces in the Taiwan region of China or a resurgence of Japanese militarism," the foreign minister said, according to China's official Xinhua news agency, cited by EFE.

In that vein, Wang stressed that Beijing will "work with all parties to uphold the international consensus" on the one-China principle and "jointly safeguard the achievements of the victory in World War II."

China's response to Japan

The statements by the head of Chinese diplomacy come in response to recent remarks by recently appointed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could justify the intervention of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

Following those demonstrations, China advised its citizens not to travel to Japan, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations, and again banned the import of Japanese seafood, among other retaliatory measures.

On Friday, Takaichi refused to back down and called his stance on Taiwan "coherent" with the Japanese government's historical position, while expressing his desire for "mutually beneficial" relations with Beijing and calling for dialogue.