Japan's foreign minister has condemned China's ballistic missile launches and again urged an immediate end to large-scale military drills near Taiwan.

Hayashi Yoshimasa was speaking at a session of foreign ministers of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia on Friday. The meeting involves the 10 ASEAN members, as well as Japan, China, the United States, Russia and other Asia-Pacific countries.

Hayashi said the firing of Chinese ballistic missiles into waters near Japan, including its exclusive economic zone, is a grave problem that threatens Japan's national security and the safety of its people.

He denounced China's actions as something that could seriously undermine peace and stability of the region and the world. He reiterated Japan's call for China to immediately halt its military exercises.

Other countries also expressed concerns about the tensions in and around the Taiwan Strait. Multiple participants made critical comments about China's actions.

Hayashi also touched on the repeated intrusions into Japan's territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands by Chinese government ships. He said China is ramping up activities that infringe on Japan's sovereignty in the East China Sea.

Japan controls the islands. The Japanese government maintains they are an inherent part of Japan's territory. China and Taiwan claim them.

Hayashi also expressed strong opposition to what he views as China's economic coercion in the region.

He also urged Russia to immediately stop its invasion of Ukraine. He said any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force cannot be tolerated anywhere in the world.

Japan's Foreign Ministry says that while Hayashi was delivering his speech, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left the venue.

The meeting was followed by ministerial talks of the ASEAN Regional Forum, which was attended by officials from North Korea.

Hayashi explained that Japan's position remains unchanged in seeking the normalization of diplomatic ties with North Korea by solving a range of issues in a comprehensive manner. These include Pyongyang's abduction of Japanese nationals, and its nuclear and missile programs.

He urged North Korea to resume substantive talks with relevant countries toward the goal of complete denuclearization.