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"Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Wednesday praised Pakistan’s role in ceasefire talks between the US and Iran, as Beijing faces growing pressure to use its influence in the Middle East to help end the conflict. "China welcomes all efforts that contribute to a ceasefire and end the conflict, and appreciates Pakistan's role in facilitating a temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran and its fair and balanced mediation efforts. The urgent task is to do everything possible to prevent the resumption of hostilities, maintain the hard-won ceasefire momentum, and insist on resolving disputes through political and diplomatic means,” Guo told reporters at a daily press conference in Beijing. China is facing growing pressure to step in, with figures including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arguing that Beijing is uniquely positioned to help resolve the crisis due to its direct diplomatic channels with Iran. Addressing concerns over the Strait of Hormuz, and remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Moscow could help ease energy supply disruptions caused by regional instability during his visit to Beijing, Guo noted that “China and Russia have always carried out pragmatic cooperation in various fields, including energy, on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit.” The spokesperson also spoke on Beijing's 'highly concerned' stance on Japan's potential plans to deploy air defence missile units to the Yonaguni garrison in Okinawa. "Under the guise of ‘defence’ and ‘counterattack’, Japan is strengthening the deployment of missiles and other offensive weapons in areas bordering China [...] far exceeding the scope of self-defence and exclusively defensive defence, and is a mockery of Japan's self-proclaimed status as a ‘peaceful nation’," Guo remarked. "We urge Japan to deeply reflect on its history of militaristic aggression and to uphold its commitments and exercise caution in its words and actions in the military and security fields," he continued. The comments came after Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi met with the mayor of Yonaguni on Monday, who reportedly backed the ministry's plans to deploy a missile unit on Yonaguni Island, about 110 kilometres from Taiwan's eastern coast. Since Prime Minister Sanae Takichi took office last year, Japan has pursued a policy of strengthening national security under a more assertive 'Japan First' strategy. The PM is also pushing to revise the 'peaceful' Article 9 of the Constitution, which renounces war as a sovereign right and prohibits maintaining armed forces with war potential. China‑Japan relations remain strained after Takaichi said in November that any crisis in the Taiwan Strait could justify Japan's use of collective self‑defence to protect the island, remarks Beijing condemned as a direct challenge to its sovereignty and a warning against reviving Japanese militarism."
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