The use of both international lawfare and historical narrative warfare signals a major, under-recognized shift in China’s Taiwan strategy and its approach to Japan.
By JIANLI YANG Dec 4, 2025
The latest China–Japan confrontation erupted after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi declared in the Diet that any Chinese use of force or blockade against Taiwan could trigger a “survival-threatening situation” under Japan’s security legislation. This designation is not rhetorical flourish. Under Japan’s 2015 security laws, such a situation legally authorizes Tokyo to deploy its Self-Defense Forces, conduct logistics support for U.S. military operations, and, if deemed necessary, use limited armed force to protect Japan’s survival. When Takaichi invoked this threshold, she was signaling that Japan might enter a Taiwan conflict militarily even if Japan itself were not directly attacked—an unprecedented statement that Beijing interpreted not merely as political posturing but as the first step toward Japanese intervention in a possible cross-Strait war.
China reacted with exceptional speed and intensity. After launching diplomatic protests, economic retaliation, and military signaling, Beijing did something without precedent in the history of the PRC’s foreign policy: it submitted a formal letter to the United Nations accusing Japan of “aggression” and warning that China would exercise its right of self-defense under the UN Charter. Simultaneously, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo publicly circulated the text of the UN Charter’s enemy-state clauses—Articles 53, 77, and 107—which apply to WWII Axis powers, including Japan. This two-front campaign—rooted in 国际法战 (international lawfare) and 历史战 (historical narrative warfare)—signals a major, under-recognized shift in China’s Taiwan strategy and its approach to Japan. Beijing is no longer relying primarily on deterrence or intimidation; it is attempting to reshape the legal, historical, and moral terrain on which the Taiwan issue is contested.
China’s International Lawfare: Reviving the Arcana of the UN Charter to Pressure Japan
China’s letter to the United Nations was remarkable not only for its content but for the legal architecture surrounding it… [Continue Reading]
Source: https://thediplomat.com/2025/12/chinas-new-two-front-strategy-against-japan-and-taiwan/