On February 14, 2026 local time, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, attended the Munich Security Conference, delivered a speech at the "China Special" and answered questions on the spot.
Asked what responsibility China bears for the renewed escalation of tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, Wang Yi said, I do not agree that the situation in the Asia-Pacific is becoming increasingly tense. Looking around the world, only Asia remains generally peaceful. Even the local conflicts that occurred on the Cambodia-Thailand border not long ago were quickly calmed down by the efforts of all parties, and China also played a role in it. China has become the mainstay of peace in Asia. As an important force for peace in the world today, China will continue to play a constructive role in regional peace and stability.
Wang Yi said that it is not all smooth sailing and calm in Asia, and we must now be wary of Japan's recent dangerous trends. Japan's current Prime Minister actually publicly claimed that any incident in the Taiwan Strait would constitute an "existential crisis situation" in which Japan could exercise its right to collective self-defense. This is the first time in the 80 years since the war that a Japanese Prime Minister has publicly made such wild claims. It directly challenges China's national sovereignty, directly challenges the post-war international order in which Taiwan has been returned to China, and directly betrays Japan's political commitments to China. Of course China cannot agree, not even 1.4 billion Chinese people will agree!
Wang Yi said, today we are in Germany, and we might as well make a comparison between the post-war handling of Japan and Europe. After the war, Germany carried out a comprehensive liquidation of fascism and enacted laws prohibiting the promotion of Nazism. Japan still enshrines Class-A war criminals in shrines, and Japanese dignitaries flock to worship them and regard them as "heroic spirits." This phenomenon is unimaginable in Europe, and this is the root of all problems.
Wang Yi emphasized that the Japanese leader’s erroneous remarks on the Taiwan issue exposed Japan’s ambition to invade and colonize Taiwan and the lingering specter of resurrected militarism. Japan used the so-called "existential crisis" as an excuse to launch aggression against China and attack Pearl Harbor in the United States. Yin Jian is not far away and must be observed. If you don't repent, you will inevitably repeat the same mistakes. Kind people should be vigilant. First of all, we must remind the Japanese people not to be deceived and threatened by far-right forces and extremist ideological trends again. All peace-loving countries must also issue a warning to Japan: If it goes back, it will be self-destruction. If you gamble again, you will only lose faster and worse! (Headquarters reporter Kang Yubin)
