China Opposes Japan's Bid to Strike 'Enemy State' Clauses From UN Charter

China has voiced firm opposition to Japan's campaign to remove the "enemy state" provisions from the United Nations Charter, with a senior Chinese diplomat using a right of reply at the General Assembly to challenge Tokyo's portrayal of itself as a peace-loving nation.

Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, spoke on Monday during the 81st session's general debate, responding to an address delivered last week by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who had called for the deletion of the Charter's "enemy state" references.

The clauses, found in Articles 53, 77 and 107 of the UN Charter, originally applied to Germany, Italy, Japan and their wartime allies. They were drafted by the Allied powers as a safeguard against any renewed wars of aggression.

Sun argued that the international community should judge Japan by its actions rather than its statements. He noted that Japan joined the UN on the understanding that it acknowledged its militarist crimes and accepted the Charter in full.

More than eight decades later, the envoy said, the Takaichi government has avoided acknowledging those historical crimes, instead seeking to whitewash the past while promoting narratives about threats from neighbouring countries to justify an ongoing military buildup.

Citing recent developments, Sun pointed to sharp increases in Japanese military spending, the easing of lethal weapons exports, the deployment of intermediate- and long-range missiles, the expansion of offensive capabilities and the stockpiling of sensitive nuclear materials. He also referred to efforts to revise Japan's pacifist Constitution, attempts to break its "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" and advocacy for Japan to become a "war-capable" nation.

"Facts have shown that Japan's remilitarization has become a real threat to regional and global peace and stability," Sun said.

He described the "enemy state" clauses as an important institutional arrangement designed to prevent fascism and militarism from threatening international peace and security once more, and to protect the post-war international order. Those provisions, he said, remain highly relevant today.

Any attempt to deny or whitewash aggression, revive militarism or challenge the post-war order, he warned, runs counter to peace and justice and will face firm opposition from peace-loving people everywhere.

Sun urged Japanese politicians to confront history squarely, reflect on it deeply and take concrete steps to earn the trust of Asian neighbours and the wider international community. He said China would work with like-minded countries to curb the rise of neo-militarism in Japan under the guise of "national normalization" and to prevent it from endangering the region and the world.

China has warned that Japan has repeatedly broken through post-war constraints and expanded its military in recent years, sending a dangerous signal and revealing what Beijing describes as an ambition to abandon peaceful development in favour of military expansion.

In his remarks, Sun framed the issue as a choice for Japan: whether to ignore the lessons of history and allow the toxic legacy of militarism to resurface, or to face its history of aggression, honour its peace commitments and earn international trust through sincere reflection; and whether to continue distorting facts and challenging the post-war order, or to fulfil its peace commitments through concrete action.

China called on Japan to learn from history and immediately halt what it termed dangerous remilitarization, urging the international community to remain vigilant and jointly uphold the outcomes of the Second World War victory and global peace and stability.