Countries cautioned on actions in South China Sea

China on Monday urged countries outside the region to behave with caution and refrain from activities that undermine regional peace and stability, after Japan conducted its first ever peacetime submarine drill in the South China Sea.

"The situation in the South China Sea has cooled down and is improving," Geng Shuang, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a regular news conference in Beijing.

On Monday, The Japan Times quoted the Japanese Defense Ministry as saying that the submarine Kuroshio, along with the Kaga helicopter destroyer and two other ships, conducted an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the South China Sea last week.