Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday disapproved the use of threat or force to resolve long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Modi, in an apparent attack on China, said that the use of threat or force to resolve the South China Sea disputes would further complicate the peace and stability of the region. China is reportedly building new military infrastructure and constructing new islands to strengthen its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

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Modi urged all South China Sea claimants to respect the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He added that India supports freedom of navigation in the disputed region. "As a State party to the UN Convention of the Law on the Sea (UNCLOS), India urges all parties to show the utmost respect for the UNCLOS," he said at Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

China has been engaged in a bitter dispute with the Philippines over the ownership of islands and reefs in the South China Sea. In July, an international arbitration court ruled against China in favor of Philippines in the long-standing South China Sea territorial dispute. China, however, rejected the ruling, describing it as "null and void."

India and China have been engaged in a bitter dispute over their shared Himalayan border. India's failed bid for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) has led to further deterioration of Sino-India ties in recent months. In June, Beijing blocked New Delhi's bid for membership in the NSG at a plenary meeting of the elite club in Seoul.

India recently agreed to provide four new petrol boats to Vietnam, another claimant country in the South China Sea. The four high-speed boats would boost Vietnam's military capability to counter Beijing's growing influence in the region. 

TagsIndian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, china, South China Sea, South China Sea Dispute