China, Japan Clash at UN in Ongoing Feud Over Taiwan

Beijing continued to pressure Japan over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks that a war on Taiwan may trigger actions of Japan’s defense response.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz addresses the U.N. Security Council as they meet to vote on a draft resolution to authorize an International Stabilization Force in Gaza, in New York City on Nov. 17, 2025. Adam Gray/Getty Images

China’s ambassador to the United Nations used a Security Council meeting on Dec. 15 to try to pressure Japan into retracting Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks regarding Taiwan, stirring up already existing tensions between the two countries.

In response to lawmakers’ questions on Nov. 7 about Japan’s defense posture in a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan, Takaichi said naval conflicts would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Under a 2015 law enacted by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a survival-threatening situation would trigger Japanese military actions.