China agrees with Russian foreign minister's remarks on Japan: spokesperson
Xinhua
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Photo taken on April 4, 2018 shows the entrance to the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing, capital of China. (File photo: Xinhua)

BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- China agrees with what Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said about Japan, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov told the media that Japan was initially designated as an "enemy state" in the UN Charter. Japan joined the UN after having atoned for its militaristic policies and the crimes it committed. By joining the UN, Japan recognized the principles enshrined in the Charter in their entirety.

The "Enemy State Clauses" is an important provision of the UN Charter, Lin said when asked to comment on Lavrov's remarks.

As this year marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Tokyo Trials, to reaffirm these clauses and underline their binding force is of particular importance for defending the outcomes of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War and thwarting the resurgence of militarism, Lin said.

Japan needs to be reminded that instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, stipulate Japan's international obligations as a defeated country and serve as cornerstones of the postwar international order, Lin said.

He said fulfilling these obligations is the political and legal prerequisite for Japan to be readmitted to the international community. Today, however, the Takaichi administration keeps sidestepping the issue of historical crimes with no sign of remorse, and even goes to great lengths to whitewash and glorify them, as part of its scheme to abandon pacifism, break free from the constraints of its Constitution and domestic and international laws, and ratchet up remilitarization.

"This is a blatant challenge to the postwar international order and a flagrant provocation to peace and justice. All peace-loving nations need to jointly reject and check Japanese right-wing forces' dangerous pursuit so as to safeguard the outcomes of WWII victory and the postwar international order and ensure that the tragedies of history will never be repeated," the spokesperson said.