China signals firm red lines to Japan through Wang Yi’s ‘three never-allow’ statement

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has drawn three clear strategic red lines for Japan, using his “three never-allow” statement and a pointed call to “re-examine Japan’s historical crimes” to underscore China’s position amid Tokyo’s revived militarist rhetoric and its attempts to meddle in China’s Taiwan region.

During his first strategic dialogue with Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin in Dushanbe on Saturday, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said China will never allow right-wing forces in Japan to turn back the wheel of history, never allow external forces to interfere in China’s Taiwan region and never allow a resurgence of Japanese militarism.

Speaking to the media on Sunday after concluding visits to three Central Asian countries, Wang said that if Japan refuses to correct course and continues to repeat its mistakes, countries and people who uphold justice have both the right and the responsibility to re-examine Japan’s historical crimes and prevent any revival of militarism.

CGTN interviewed Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China; Rong Ying, chair professor at Sichuan University; and Lu Hao, a research fellow at the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, for their insights into the strategic significance of the “three never-allow” statement, the risks posed by Japan’s militarization and what “re-examining historical crimes” entails.

What the ‘three never-allow’ statement signifies

Rong explained that Wang Yi’s “three never-allow” statement directly corresponds to the “three firsts” identified by China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fu Cong in his recent letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks marked the first time since Japan’s 1945 defeat that a Japanese leader had, in a formal setting, promoted the notion that “a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency” and linked it to the exercise of collective self-defense; the first time Japan had openly hinted at armed involvement in the Taiwan question; and the first time it had issued an implied military threat against China – a direct challenge to China’s core interests, Fu said.

These “three firsts,” combined with Wang Yi’s “three never-allow” statement, delineate China’s red lines on the Taiwan question, on historical issues and against military intimidation, Rong said, noting that Beijing has now laid out clear boundaries for Japan.

Wang Yiwei noted that the first “never allow” is a warning to emboldened right-wing forces in Japan who are undermining Japan’s pacifist constitution, seeking to shake off its postwar identity, and attempting to involve Japan in regional conflicts under the banner of collective self-defense.

He added that Wang Yi’s remarks reaffirm that issues related to the Taiwan region are China’s internal affairs, not subject to external interference, and caution against Japan’s attempt to invoke the so-called survival-threatening situation – a pretext Japan used to launch past acts of aggression.

Wang Yi’s remarks demand that Japan squarely face its history of aggression and abide by the core requirements in international legal documents regarding Japan’s reflection on its wartime crimes, refraining from any form of distortion or beautification of that history, Lu said.

Risks to the Asia-Pacific

Experts have warned that Japan’s steady normalization of its military posture and its attempt to pull the Taiwan question into its strategic calculations could introduce significant instability into the Asia-Pacific region.

Rong pointed to Japan’s persistent narrative that “what happened yesterday in Ukraine could happen tomorrow in the Taiwan Strait,” calling it misleading and dangerous. He said if Japan revives militarism, regional peace and civilian safety would be gravely undermined, making Japanese militarism the region’s greatest threat.

Wang Yiwei added that Japanese intervention in the Taiwan question – an internal matter between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait – would trigger one of the most severe crises the Asia-Pacific has seen.

Given China’s role as the top trading partner for 160 countries, the Taiwan region’s central position in global semiconductor supply chains and Japan’s status as a major global trading nation, Wang warned that dragging the region into conflict would cause severe and long-lasting damage to the Asia-Pacific and even the global economy.

With Japan and other external forces emboldening and indulging “Taiwan independence” elements in pursuing “changes to the status quo,” the Taiwan Strait would be pushed from a security hotspot to a flashpoint of conflict, Lu said.

He added that Japan itself would also face grave danger, especially its southwestern islands, and would be the first to bear severe security risks.

What ‘re-examining Japan’s historical crimes’ means

Wang Yiwei said “re-examining historical crimes” means restoring historical truth. He noted that China could cooperate with Russia and other countries to declassify relevant archives. With Fu circulating diplomatic notes to UN member states, civil and legal claims against Japan are progressing, and a sanctions framework touching education, trade and investment is taking shape, he added.

Citing the Chinese Embassy in Japan’s recent reminder of the UN Charter’s “enemy State” clauses, Wang Yiwei said China could, under certain circumstances, take unilateral action against Japan without explicit UN authorization.

Rong said that as a defeated nation, Japan “can only submit its answers and wait for the results,” noting that history and the people will ultimately judge Japan’s actions.

At its core, the call seeks concerted action from the international community and peoples of all countries to press Japan to face its aggressive past, abandon its trajectory of military expansion, and safeguard the fruits of victory in World War II and the principles of international justice, Lu said.