Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks at the UN General Assembly's annual debate on Security Council reform, at the UN headquarters in New York, Nov. 18, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Japan is "totally unqualified" to seek a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Fu Cong said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly's plenary meeting on Security Council reform, Fu said that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently made a "brazen, provocative" statement on Taiwan at the Japanese Diet. She claimed that a "Taiwan contingency" could be a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and implied that Japan may invoke the so-called right to collective self-defense to interfere militarily in the Taiwan Strait.

Takaichi's remarks are "extremely erroneous and dangerous," and constitute a gross interference in China's internal affairs and a serious breach of the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, said Fu.

"They are an affront to international justice, damage the post-war international order, trample on the basic norms of international relations, and represent a blatant departure from Japan's commitment to peaceful development," he noted.

"Such a country is totally unqualified to seek a permanent seat on the Security Council," said the ambassador.

Fu underscored that throughout its history, Japanese militarists have repeatedly used the so-called "survival-threatening situation" as a pretext to launch foreign aggression, including the Sept. 18 Incident in 1931, under the pretext of the right of self-defense, which provoked a war of aggression against China and brought profound suffering to the Chinese people and people around the world.

"Now, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi again raised the issue of 'survival-threatening situation.' What is her true intention? Is Japan going to repeat its past mistakes of militarism?" Fu asked.

The ambassador said Takaichi has also consistently advocated for removing the "renunciation of war" clause from Japan's pacifist constitution. "Given the egregious behavior from Takaichi, how can we trust Japan's professed commitment to peaceful development? How can the international community trust Japan to uphold fairness and justice? How can we trust Japan to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security?" he said.

Fu stressed that Japan should immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs, retract its wrongful, provocative remarks and actions, and refrain from "playing with fire" on the Taiwan question. "Otherwise, Japan should be prepared to bear all the consequences."

"If Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression and would definitely be met with a firm response from China. We will exercise our right to self-defense under the UN Charter and international law and resolutely defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Fu stated.