China’s government has slammed Group of Seven (G-7) members for “taking sides” in its maritime territorial disputes with other nations in the East and South China Seas. According to the Associated Press, a statement issued after the foreign ministers of the group of industrialized countries met in the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Monday appeared directed at China when it expressed “strong opposition to any intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions.” China is locked in increasingly tense disputes with the G-7’s only Asian member, Japan, over islands in the East China Sea, and with several Southeast Asian countries over the South China Sea — which China claims almost in its entirety.