New Delhi, Dec. 30 -- China's foreign minister on Tuesday slammed a record U.S. arms sale to Taiwan as Beijing conducted the second day of military drills around the island it has long claimed as its own.

Wang Yi, the most senior Chinese official to comment on the sales so far, also blasted the "pro-independence forces in Taiwan" and Japan's leaders during an end-of-the-year diplomatic event in Beijing.

"In response to the continuous provocations by pro-independence forces in Taiwan and the large-scale U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, we must resolutely oppose and strongly counter them," Wang said while reviewing a year of diplomacy by Asia's largest and most influential nation.

He reiterated China's aim for a "complete reunification" with T...