TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China is the aggressor in the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Sunday.

Lin said in a press release that China engages in military provocations in the region and has repeatedly and openly violated the UN Charter principle that prohibits “the threat or use of force.” “These actions seriously threaten regional peace and stability and disrupt international air and maritime traffic and commercial exchanges,” Lin said. 

Lin’s comments follow China’s top diplomat Wang Yi’s call for the international community to “recommit to the founding mission of the UN” and “abide by the purposes of the UN Charter.” Wang delivered an address at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on Saturday, accusing other countries of stoking “bloc confrontations” and reviving a “Cold War mentality.”

China’s words do not match its deeds, Lin said. The foreign minister urged China to help safeguard regional peace and stability and stop misleading the international community. Only by accepting reality and engaging in respectful, equal dialogue with Taiwan can cross-strait relations be improved, Lin said.

The minister called on the international community to continue supporting democratic Taiwan with concrete actions and to condemn China’s repeated unilateral attempts to change the status quo through coercion and other tactics. 

Lin emphasized that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country that has never been a part of the PRC. Only Taiwan’s 23 million people have the right to decide the nation’s future, he added.