China on Thursday urged the United States and Japan not to endanger peace and stability in the region as well as hurt the interests of third parties, while arguing that disputed islands in the East China Sea are its "inherent territory."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also lambasted the U.S.-Japan security treaty as a "product of the Cold War."

Wang's remarks came after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden was quoted by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as affirming Washington's commitment to defending the Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu in China, under the 1960 bilateral treaty.

Biden and Suga held their first phone talks on Thursday.

The group of the uninhabited islets are administrated by Japan but claimed by China.