China on Thursday issued a stark warning to Japan, demanding that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retract her recent remarks about the possibility of military intervention should Beijing impose a blockade on Taiwan.

Why It Matters

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has repeatedly stated that unification with the self-ruled island is inevitable—by force, if necessary. The People’s Liberation Army has in recent years ratcheted up pressure on Taiwan, including large-scale military exercises that simulate a blockade .

Rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and China’s military buildup have worried Japan . In 2015, The U.S. defense treaty ally moved to reinterpret its pacifist postwar constitution to allow for “collective self-defense” alongside U.S. forces if a conflict wer

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