Kuala Lumpur, July 13 -- Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Takeshi Iwaya, has sharply criticised China's provocative military drills around Taiwan, calling them "incompatible" with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei Times reported. His remarks, delivered during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers' Meetings, signal rising regional resistance to Beijing's escalating military aggression.

According to Taipei Times, Iwaya told Wang that "peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is important for the international community, including Japan," and that China's large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan contradict the very notion of regional stability....