China announced it has imposed sanctions on Shigeru Iwasaki, the former chief of the Joint Staff of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, accusing him of colluding with separatist forces in Taiwan. The foreign ministry statement, reported by the state-run Global Times and carried by ANI, said the measures include freezing Iwasaki’s movable and immovable assets and other property in China.
According to the statement, organizations and individuals in China are barred from transactions, cooperation or other activities with Iwasaki. The measures also prohibit issuing visas to him and deny him entry to mainland China as well as the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. Beijing said the actions were taken under Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 15 of the People’s Republic of China Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.
Beijing has long viewed Taiwan as a province of China and protested earlier this year when Iwasaki was named an honorary adviser to the Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s highest administrative body. Taiwan’s Cabinet had appointed him a political affairs consultant; Japanese reports note he led the Joint Staff from 2012 to 2014.
Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing increased after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks to Parliament on November 7 suggesting Japan could deploy forces in a hypothetical Taiwan Strait conflict. Beijing responded with diplomatic and economic pressure seeking a retraction, issued travel warnings for its citizens, urged students to reconsider plans to study in Japan, and reduced or suspended imports of some Japanese seafood. Cultural events featuring Japanese artists were canceled, and Chinese coast guard and navy vessels have increased transits around the Senkaku islands, which are administered by Japan but claimed by China as the Diaoyu islands.
The sanctions are the latest development in a period of heightened bilateral tensions over security and Taiwan-related issues.
