TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) condemned Beijing on Tuesday (Aug. 27) for violating other countries' sovereignty and disrupting regional peace.

The ministry said a Chinese Shaanxi Y-9 reconnaissance plane intrusion into Japanese airspace east of the Danjo Islands on Monday (Aug. 26) “seriously violated Japan's sovereignty and raised regional tensions.” 

The ministry said China's continued use of military aircraft and warships to intrude into Taiwan and Japan's air defense identification zones and exclusive economic zones has heightened regional tensions. It added China collaborates with Russia in conducting frequent military exercises in the East China Sea and South China Sea in an attempt to use force to change the status quo.

MOFA said China's military expansion poses a “major threat” to the security of countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan and Japan.

The ministry called on China to “return to rationality and self-restraint,” and to cease all actions that undermine peace in the Taiwan Strait and escalate regional tensions.

It said Taiwan will strengthen its self-defense capabilities, while continuing to cooperate with like-minded countries, including Japan, to “jointly deter the expansion and aggression of authoritarianism.”

On Tuesday, MOFA retweeted a post by US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel criticizing the lack of a spirit of “love thy neighbor” in China's “good neighbor” policy. MOFA then criticized Beijing for intruding into Japan's airspace and ramming Philippine vessels. 

The ministry said China's ambitions have “transcended Taiwan” to menace security in the region and called on democracies to unite to “counter this authoritarian push.”