Hong Lei, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, holds a regular press conference on December 14, 2015. (Photo/Official website of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Relevant countries should not provoke confrontation and create tension in the South China Sea, said a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commenting on Japan's participation in India-U.S. joint military exercises.

Japan announced it formal entry into the India-U.S. Malabar bilateral maritime exercises during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit in India, according to a report by local newspaper The Hindu.

During Abe's visit to India, both countries signed a range of agreements to widen defense and security ties, from formalizing Japan's presence in the India-US Exercise Malabar "on a regular basis" to signing a landmark deal on civilian nuclear energy, reported India Today.

As for Japan-India nuclear energy cooperation, Hong Lei, spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Chinese side always believes that under the premise of honoring international nuclear non-proliferation obligations, all countries are entitled to make peaceful use of nuclear energy and conduct relevant international cooperation in a way that upholds the authority and effectiveness of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.

India and Japan in a joint statement also expressed concern over the South China Sea, calling on all parties to refrain from taking unilateral actions that could lead to tensions in the region.

In response to this issue, Hong pointed out that China respects the navigation and overflight freedom in the South China Sea that all countries are entitled to in accordance with international law.

The construction activities that China undertakes on the stationed islands and reefs in the South China Sea fall completely within China's sovereignty. They are justified, reasonable and lawful, targeting no country and impeding in no way the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, Hong said.

We hope countries outside the region would respect the efforts of regional countries in maintaining peace and stability of the South China Sea, instead of doing the opposite, Hong added.