TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could be considered a situation threatening Japan’s survival, potentially triggering a military response from Tokyo.

During a Lower House session on Friday, Takaichi said Chinese military actions against Taiwan, such as a naval blockade, would likely qualify as a “situation threatening Japan’s survival,” compelling Japan to take action, per Asahi Shimbun. She added, “A judgment must be made after comprehensively assessing all information in line with the individual and specific circumstances of what has actually occurred.”

Takaichi said lining up civilian vessels to impede passage would not meet the threshold. “If it is a wartime blockade, with drones flying and various other developments, then the situation could be seen differently,” she said, per Nikkei Asia.

She said the response would depend on what actions China might take “to bring Taiwan fully under the control of the government in Beijing.” Takaichi emphasized Tokyo’s responsibility to evacuate Japanese citizens in such an emergency, adding, “We must be prepared for a worst-case scenario.”

Her stance is notable because although she considers herself a successor to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he did not, while in office, cite an invasion of Taiwan as a justification for the use of force by Japan, per Asahi Shimbun. After stepping down, Abe said, “A Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency, and therefore an emergency for the Japan-US alliance,” per CNN.

Three conditions for exercising the right of collective self-defense were introduced in Japan’s 2015 security legislation. The first criterion covers cases in which an attack on a country closely related to Japan “threatens Japan’s survival and poses a clear danger to fundamentally overturn people’s right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.”