Japan should expel the Chinese consul general to Osaka over his X post that appeared to threaten to behead Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Xue Jian’s rhetoric goes far beyond the so-called “Wolf Warrior” tendency of Chinese diplomats to aggressively rebuke perceived slights to the Chinese Communist Party and its policies.
Xue’s threat followed a parliamentary speech by Takaichi last week, during which she observed that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening attack” for Japan. Such a threat would justify Japanese military action in support of Taiwanese and, presumably, U.S. forces. In response, Xue warned that this constituted “a path of death that only some stupid politicians in Japan would choose.” He then added that China needed only to “cut off” their “dirty necks” without hesitation. The Chinese Foreign Ministry justified Xue’s comments by blaming Takaichi. China has “made serious démarches and protests to Japan,” a spokesperson added.
Although Xue’s post was subsequently deleted, the language used by a senior Chinese diplomat is clearly unacceptable. Beijing is always keen to make clear its extreme sensitivity about Taiwan, an island democracy that China claims as its unjustly severed territory. But for an experienced Chinese diplomat to casually threaten to decapitate a foreign leader is psychotic behavior. Xue may have been speaking metaphorically, but he and his government must have known how his message would be perceived.
Fortunately, there is a familiar self-defeating quality to Xue’s message.
After all, by reacting so outrageously to what every other country will have regarded as a legitimate expression of Japan’s concern over any future Chinese attack on Taiwan, Xue has made his country look only rude, arrogant, and slightly ridiculous. While statements from top Chinese officials have said Beijing seeks only “win-win cooperation” and “mutual respect,” many governments have experienced numerous private and public examples of a different Chinese offering. Namely, that of Chinese officials who rudely assert their own interests with disdain for diplomatic protocol. In turn, outbursts such as this one don’t simply alienate the nation at which they are targeted; they foster the broader belief that while Beijing might be a necessary partner via its economic might, it’s also an inherently unreliable and unpleasant one. This helps Washington as it attempts to defend the U.S.-led democratic international order against Chinese efforts to displace it.
U.S. Ambassador to Tokyo George Glass recognized as much. Responding to Xue’s post, Glass observed, “The mask slips — again. Just a few months ago Xue compared Israel with Nazi Germany. Now, he threatens [Takaichi] and the Japanese people. Time for Beijing to behave like the ‘good neighbor’ it talks repeatedly about — but fails repeatedly to become.”
This is the right message to send. The Trump administration should give it added teeth by making clear to Japan that it will take supportive measures for Tokyo if China engages in retaliatory measures beyond its own diplomatic expulsions. Again, Takaichi has taken a robust stance in support of U.S. Pacific security interests with her comments on Taiwan. It’s a stance that the U.S. cannot take for granted amid other allies, such as South Korea, that prefer to bend the knee to Beijing.
TRUMP HOLDS A POSITIVE MEETING WITH SYRIA’S AHMED AL SHARAA, BUT KEY QUESTIONS REMAIN
Will the Chinese Communist Party apparatchiks learn their lesson here?
It’s very unlikely. Propelled both by arrogant indignation and a great fear of appearing weak, Chinese officials are willing to alienate the world if in doing so they appear at least temporarily strong.