BEIJING, April 28 -- A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the U.S. and Japan have a responsibility to ensure their alliance does not undermine the interests of third parties or the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S.-Japan alliance, a bilateral arrangement forged during the Cold War, should not undermine the interests of third parties including China, said spokesperson Hong Lei at a routine press briefing.

Hong's remarks came in response to the new guidelines for defense cooperation between the U.S. and Japan, which eliminate current geographic limits on activities by the Japanese self-defense forces (SDF).

A joint statement of the New Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation was released after the U.S. and Japanese foreign and defense ministers met in New York City Monday morning.

The revisions come with a renewed pledge of the U.S. position that the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea fall under Japanese administration and are within the scope of the 1952 U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.

Hong reiterated that the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islets are part of China's inherent territory and the fact can never be changed, no matter what anybody else says and does.

China will resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, said the spokesperson.