January 3, 2026 07:07 AM IST First published on: Jan 3, 2026 at 07:07 AM ISTHarvested from the cold, pristine waters off Hokkaido island, the Yesso scallop is no mere mollusc. It is a prize of the culinary world, sought after for its sweet, buttery flesh. Chinese gourmands, in particular, are so partial to Hokkaido’s famous scallops as to have made their country the top destination for the Japanese delicacy. This, unfortunately, has also made the bivalve a soft target: Piqued by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signalling support for Taiwan in the event of Chinese military action, Beijing has banned the import of seafood from Japan.The humble scallop may seem like an unlikely pawn on the chessboard of diplomacy but history has shown that food can be a sensitive topic in international relations. In 2021, the pineapple was at the centre of a diplomatic row, which started with China banning imports of the fruit from Taiwan. The support that Tokyo showed to Taiwan that year — ordering a record 19,000 tons of the rebranded “freedom pineapples” — was repaid in November 2025 when Taipei took up “sushi diplomacy” as a response to China’s strongarm tactics against Japan. India, too, is not unfamiliar with the pains and pleasures of gastrodiplomacy: Thorny as Bengalis’ favourite ilish maachh (hilsa) is, Bangladesh’s periodic suspension of supply to India has been harder to swallow.AdvertisementOf course, the complex problems of geopolitics are best left to the experts. Much as humans have an instinct for commensality, wars are rarely resolved over the breaking of bread, and when the stakes are high, even the most delicious scallop makes for a weak bargaining chip. But when the squabbles of nations descend from the high table to the dining table, statecraft — no matter the high principles or noble ideals it may be built on — leaves a bitter taste that is hard to ignore.