HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s leader John Lee said on Monday his government supported China’s diplomatic policy towards Japan and the financial hub would closely monitor the situation and respond appropriately.

The comments are the first time a Hong Kong official has publicly weighed in on a dispute that has roiled China-Japan ties for more than two weeks.

The spat was triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks in parliament on November 7 that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically-governed Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

“These extremely erroneous remarks have severely deteriorated the atmosphere for exchanges between China and Japan,” Lee said at a media briefing. “It makes us doubt the effectiveness of many exchanges.”

On Sunday, C

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