The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju has sparked a new flashpoint in China-Japan tensions. After Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a chilly first summit for 30 minutes, the "Taiwan issue" has now burst into the open.
The trigger for this situation was a single photo that Prime Minister Takaichi posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account on the 31st. Prime Minister Takaichi uploaded photos with leaders she met during the Gyeongju APEC period. Included was an image of her shaking hands with Lin Hsin-yi, senior adviser to the Presidential Office, who attended as Taiwan's representative. Takaichi wrote, "I briefly greeted Adviser Lin." In a separate post, she clearly left the message, "I hope practical cooperation between Japan and Taiwan deepens."
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson issued an official position on the website on the 1st, showing a reaction close to fury. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized, saying, "A Japanese leader stubbornly met with a figure from the Taiwan authorities of China during the APEC meeting," and "heavily promoted it on social media." It added, "This seriously violates the 'one China' principle and the spirit of the four major China-Japan political documents," and claimed it "sent a gravely wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' forces." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The nature and impact are very bad," and "we firmly oppose this."
China did not stop at verbal criticism. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson said it lodged "stern representations" and a strong protest with Japan. "Stern representations" is the highest-level protest expression used in Chinese diplomacy. China also brought in historical issues. It pressed, saying, "Japan ruled Taiwan as a colony for a long period and bears an indelible and grave historical guilt," and "should be more prudent in word and deed."
The two countries, far from achieving "strategic reciprocity" on the occasion of the APEC summit, appear to have run into shoals from the start with historical issues and Taiwan. Prime Minister Takaichi and President Xi held their first summit for 30 minutes in Gyeongju on Oct. 31. But the talks were chilly throughout. For the full 30 minutes, the two leaders, without smiles, merely conveyed their prepared positions to each other, only reaffirming their differences.
At the time, Xi even invoked the spirit of the "Murayama Statement," Japan's 1995 apology for its colonial rule and aggression, to pressure Japan. Prime Minister Takaichi did not back down. While calling for "candid dialogue," she pushed back by actively raising Japan's "tasks," including China's human rights issues, East China Sea tensions, and the North Korea issue.