ISTANBUL

China on Monday slammed Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai for his ongoing visit to Japan, accusing him of having "sinister intentions."

"The person you mentioned harbors sinister intentions," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, referring to Cho.

He "sneaked to Japan in a furtive and clandestine" manner to pursue petty and provocative moves seeking "Taiwan independence," Guo alleged.

"Such despicable deeds and schemes are utterly contemptible," Guo said, according to Beijing-based daily Global Times.

Cho arrived in Japan earlier Saturday, marking the first known visit by a sitting Taiwanese premier since Taiwan and Japan severed diplomatic ties in 1972.

Along with Taiwan's Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang and Sports Minister Lee Yang, Cho attended the World Baseball Classic (WBC) game between Taiwan and the Czech Republic in Tokyo on Saturday, according to Taipei-based Central News Agency.

Guo said China is "highly" vigilant and "firmly" opposed to Japan's attempts to make moves on the margins of the Taiwan issue.

"Japan will pay the price for its connivance of provocation and reckless acts, and it must bear all the consequences arising therefrom," he warned.

Tensions between Japan and China have been running high after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, late last year, said that any Chinese military action against Taiwan—including a naval blockade—could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation,” enabling Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense.

Takaichi, Japan’s first female premier, later told lawmakers she had spoken “under the assumption of a worst-case scenario” and denied any intention to retract her remarks.