I'm John Batchel with my good colleague, Jack Burnham, who watches China for the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy.

And for me, he's introduced me to considerations of Chinese predation I had not considered ever.

And now we move to one I do recognize the threat of nuclear weapons.

This time, however, directed against Japan.

Was this a surprise to you, Jack?

Have you come across the Chinese threatening nuclear weapons on Japan before?

I think in some ways it's certainly an escalation, but I wouldn't say it's a surprise.

You know, to give context, Japan essentially stated the obvious out loud, which is that any

Chinese effort to take Taiwan by force would present an extra central threat to Tokyo and

that as well, Tokyo will consider measures, including the deployment of military

forces as a measure of self-defense. In response to that, the various Chinese state media outlets

threaten essentially to nuke Japan in the case that Tokyo decides to deploy its armed forces while echoing a lot of the World War

to propaganda around the dangers of Japanese militarism and the crimes Japan had committed

against the broader Indo-Pacific, most particularly China. And I think here it's really a sign in which

China is attempting, in some ways, to raise the level of escalation in part out of anxiety.

I think that for a long time, China has watched warily as allies and partners around Taiwan, whether it be the Philippines, Japan, and the United States,

maintaining or even in some cases, strengthening ties to Taiwan, China views this very warily.

And I think what we see here in terms of the escalation to the nuclear threat is really a sign

of deep anxiety and panic on the part of Xi Jinping and then the CCP in order

to attempt to dissuade Japan in particular, you know, a key regional ally and partner from

strengthening its ties with Taipei.

Chinese nuclear weapons policy. You report that they have no first use, but it's modified. How so?

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