(MENAFN) According to reports, China has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding recent statements by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan, outlining Beijing’s position amid escalating tensions with Tokyo.

In the letter delivered Friday, China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Fu Cong, criticized Takaichi’s remarks as “provocative.” He wrote: "This marks the first time since Japan's defeat in 1945 that a Japanese leader has advocated in an official setting the notion that 'a contingency for Taiwan is a contingency for Japan' and linked it to the exercise of the right of collective self-defense."

Fu said Takaichi’s comments represented the first official indication that Japan might intervene militarily in the Taiwan issue and the first instance of issuing a “threat of force” against China while challenging Beijing’s core interests. He added: "Takaichi's remarks constitute a grave violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations, seriously undermine the post-war international order, and represent an open provocation to the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people and to the peoples of other Asian countries that once suffered from Japanese aggression."

He reaffirmed that Taiwan is China’s “sacred territory” and stated that resolving the Taiwan question is solely the prerogative of the Chinese people, with no external interference allowed. Fu requested that the UN chief circulate the letter to all UN member states as an official General Assembly document.

Takaichi, elected last month, had said any Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan under its security laws, potentially allowing the country to “exercise the right of collective self-defense.”

Beijing sharply condemned the remarks, which followed Takaichi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea earlier this month during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. On Friday, Takaichi reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to “mutually beneficial” relations with China.

In the wake of her statements, hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists reportedly canceled trips to Japan, and Tokyo said Beijing imposed a seafood import ban. Additionally, China postponed a trilateral meeting of culture ministers with South Korea and Japan, drawing criticism from Tokyo.

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