China on Tuesday said Japan did not need to report the passage of Chinese naval vessels through a strait, saying they observed international law.

"The Chinese vessels days ago passed through the Miyako Strait, which was normal and in line with international law," an information official of China's Defense Ministry said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"We think it is unnecessary for Japan to issue a statement on this," the official said.

The brief comments came two days after Japan's Defense Ministry issued a statement which said a Chinese destroyer and a frigate passed through international waters between the southwestern Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako toward the Pacific Ocean on Sunday.